The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN middleweight boxer Tureano Johnson promises a much better showing this time around when he steps back into the ring.

During a pre-fight promotion for his July 18 matchup against Ireland's Jacob Quigley for the North American Boxing Federation Middleweight title in a 10-round main event of the Golden Boy DAZN Thursday Night Fights at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, he said:

"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. I have felt a massive change and I feel that I will show a different and a far better version of myself on July 18. 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," Johnson told boxingscene.com. "I overlooked my last opponent somewhat 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 no where near my best but this fight will be like watching a different fighter I can promise you that."

In his last fight, Johnson fought to a surprising eight-round draw against journeyman Fernando Castaneda in February. The judges scored it 77-75 for Castaneda, 77-75 for Johnson, and 76-76.

Johnson (20-2-1, 14 KOs) will look to hand Quigley (16-0, 12 KOs) the first defeat of his professional career.

The fights will be streamed live on RingTV.com and on Facebook Watch via the Golden Boy Fight Night Page beginning at 10pm local time.

"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."

Prior to the Castenada fight, Johnson and his camp were left with disappointment rather than a much-anticipated return to action in the ring in December 2018. Johnson was scheduled to face David Lemieux Saturday night in New York's Madison Square Garden. However, the Canadian native failed to make the weight and was eventually hospitalised for severe dehydration.

Lemieux withdrew from what was intended to be a 12-round co-main event on the Canelo Alvarez versus Rocky Fielding card, broadcasted live on DAZN.

The Lemieux bout would have marked Johnson's return to the ring for the first time since an August 2017 loss to Sergiy Derevyanchenko.