Irish middleweight Jason Quigley has decided to turn professional and has signed up with US based Golden Boy Promotions.

The Irish middleweight, regarded as one of Ireland’s top amateur boxers, had his break-out season last year when he earned a place in the World Championship finals in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the first Irish boxer to do so. Earlier in the year, he became the European champion for the first time in Minsk.

In the aftermath of the World Championships, Quigley had expressed a desire to fight in the professional ranks and while the announcement that he has agreed terms with the American promoter is not a surprise it does end the speculation about the future of the 22-year-old from Donegal.

Quigley declined to defend his middleweight title at this year’s Irish Senior Championships which was a firm indicator that he would not remain as an amateur boxer and his other ambition to fight in an Olympic Games would not be realised.

Golden Boy Promotions is one of the best known US promotion firms founded by Oscar De La Hoya, an Olympic gold medallist and 10-time world champion over six weight divisions. His company has represented some of the biggest names in the sport such as Bernard Hopkins.

“I’m really, really excited. I’ve been contemplating whether to make this move or not, but I’ve gone with this feeling in my heart that I have the excitement and hunger to go on and fulfil my childhood dreams of becoming a world professional champion,” Quigley told Sky Sports.