TUREANO JOHNSON SAYS he has a lot of respect for undefeated middleweight Jason Quigley but has warned the Donegal man not to overlook him ahead of their middleweight crossroads clash next month.
Ballbofey boxer-puncher Quigley, 27, will meet the 35-year-old Bahamian in the main event of a Golden Boy card at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California on 18 July.
The fight and its undercard will be streamed live on Facebook Watch via the Golden Boy Fight Night Page.
Johnson’s only two defeats as a professional have come against world-level opposition in Curtis Stevens and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. A questionable stoppage loss to the former in 2014 came after almost 10 rounds in which Johnson outclassed and outfought Stevens, while Derevyanchenko eventually saw off the Bahamian banger in less contestable circumstances in August 2017.
Johnson [20-2-1, 14KOs] has fought only once since then due to a mixture of injury and misfortune, scrapping his way to a disappointing draw with rugged Mexican Fernando Castaneda earlier this year. He had been scheduled to fight Spike O’Sullivan conqueror David Lemieux in the co-main event to Canelo-Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden last December only for Lemieux to withdraw on the day of the fight with severe dehydration.
The Caribbean slugger already has a win on his record over another Irish middleweight prospect in Derry’s now-retired Eamonn O’Kane, who he dropped twice and outpointed in 2015.
Donegal’s Quigley [16-0, 12KOs] has his eyes on bigger prizes provided he can get past Johnson next month. The Finn Valley man believes a world-title shot will be forthcoming in his next three or so fights so long as he keeps winning.
But Johnson has other ideas, and while he respects Quigley as a fighter and a person, he’s intent only on derailing his career in three weeks’ time.
“I am very fit, I feel far better conditioned for this fight than I have in the past as I have taken a more scientific approach to training for this fight,” he said. “I have felt a massive change and I feel that I will show a different and a far better version of myself on 18 July.
“I have worked in both Atlanta and in New York with Andre Rozier and the team for this fight and found a really good balance for this camp and that is where I am getting my confidence from.
People still haven’t seen the best of Tureano Johnson and I believe they will see it against Jason Quigley.
“I overlooked my last opponent somewhat”, Johnson, added, “and we didn’t train correctly for that fight so I have made sure that I don’t make that mistake again. Things have been a lot different since then and I have taken the necessary steps to win this fight.
“We took the last fight on short notice and I was nowhere near my best but this fight will be like watching a different fighter — I can promise you that.
Jason is a nice kid and I have a lot of respect for him, but if he is overlooking me, he is making a massive mistake as I am not overlooking him by any stretch of the imagination. I am by far the biggest test of his career to date and I believe that I will emerge victoriously and move on to clashing for the world title eventually.
“Quigley is a dangerous opponent — he can really fight — but I am excited about this fight as it’s going to be a great fight for the fans and one that I believe I will win in an entertaining fashion.”
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