FORMER British super-middleweight champion Tony Dodson will now have to defeat a ‘friend’ in order to lift his old crown, following the withdrawal of Brian Magee. Due to Irish champion Magee’s back injury, Dodson now locks horns with Merseyside rival Tony Quigley, a man he’d been helping prepare for his own bout on Saturday night. “I’d been giving Quigley tips on how to beat Paul David (English champion), the guy he was originally supposed to be fighting,” explains Dodson. “Quigley’s a mate of mine and I wanted to see him win that fight. I wanted to see him lift the English title and then set up a fight with me.” Middle man cut out, Dodson and Quigley now get it on together earlier than either expected with the vacant British title awaiting the winner at the ECHO Arena. Their friendship has been temporarily placed on hold. “I’ve got a job to do and I’m going to do it,” states Dodson. “I don’t care who it is in front of me, I need that British title back. “The closer the fight gets, the more Quigley becomes my enemy. He’s trying to take something from me and I can’t let him. He’ll feel exactly the same way about me. It’s just business at the end of the day.” Although disapointed to learn of Magee’s injury, Dodson was quickly bouyed by news of Quigley’s emergence as a possible replacement. “I’ve been the ‘cock’ of Liverpool for the last 10 years and it’s about time someone else stepped up to the plate and gave me a challenge,” explains Dodson. “Quigley is that man. I’ve now got to prove why I’ve been Liverpool’s number one for so long. It’s going to be a painful lesson for Quigley.” Even though Dodson has stayed in-the-loop with Quigley’s progress ahead of their date, the Garston super-middle doesn’t expect any awkwardness when they stare across the ring at one another. “I don’t think it will be awkward at all,” he says. “To be honest, I’ve already spoken to Tony on the phone about it. We’ve agreed business is business and nothing will stop us being friends at the end of it. “This doesn’t need any bigging up or bad-mouthing from either of us. The people of Liverpool know this is a genuine fight between two of their own. He’s a good fighter, I’m a good fighter and all I can say is sit back and enjoy.” | 
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