Born on October 9, 1988 in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, Scott Quigg’s amateur career could best be described as short but sweet. He started out training in Muay Thai as a child, but then decided to switch to boxing at 16, and he quickly made his mark, winning an ABA Junior’s championship after just seven fights. When he ended his amateur career, he had a record of 10-2.
Feeling he could have even more success in the pro ranks, Quigg made his professional debut on April 21, 2007 against Gary Sheil, who he defeated on points after six rounds. In his next fight on June 30, he had his first finish with a first-round TKO over Shaun Walton. On August 11, he once again fought Walton, a somewhat unique occurrence since Walton was a journeyman fighter with a poor record. Still, Scott Quigg won again, taking the rematch on points.
Like many British fighters, his early career consisted of fights against low-level boxers with records ranging from mediocre to atrocious. It wasn’t until his eighth fight, against the 4-1-1 Angelo Villani, that he faced an opponent with a winning record. He won that fight by TKO in the second round. While his level of competition wasn’t very high, he was impressing observers with his well-rounded technical game and his aggressive, angle-heavy style. It was clear that he was an exciting young prospect with championship potential.
It took over three years of victories, but with a 19-0 record, Quigg got his first title fight on September 25, 2010 when he took on Santiago Allione for the WBA Inter-Continental super bantamweight belt. His aggression carried him to an impressive win by third-round KO. After two title defenses, he stopped Jason Booth after seven rounds on October 22, 2011 to add the British super bantamweight title to his collection.
After another title defense, he took on the 24-2-0 Rendall Munroe for the WBA interim super bantamweight title. It was a close fight while it lasted, as it had to be stopped when Munroe ended up cut after a head clash. Since the scorecards were even, the fight was ruled a technical draw.
Scott Quigg didn’t let another opportunity at a world title pass him by on November 24, 2012, as he survived a tough first round to stop Munroe by sixth-round TKO in their rematch. He followed that up by stopping William Prado in the third round.
On October 5, 2013, he took on the slick Cuban boxer Yoandris Salinas, who was 20-0-1. Both men fought hard and had their moments, and draws on two of the scorecards resulted in a majority draw.
Quigg scored decisive victories in his next three fights, winning the first two by second-round KO and the third by a third-round TKO. He defeated Hidenori Otake by unanimous decision after 12 rounds, and then brutally beat down Kiko Martinez for a second-round TKO victory.
He lost his belt on February 27, 2016 in a close split decision against Carl Frampton. At the end of the year, he moved up to featherweight and won the WBA international title with a ninth-round KO of Jose Cayetano.
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