GOLD COAST, Australia – Jed Morris attempted to unsettle Max McIntyre by telling his opponent on Saturday that McIntyre is the one “under pressure” to impress.
Their all-Australian super-middleweight contest has been promoted to chief support to the IBF cruiserweight title fight between Jai Opetaia and Husseyin Cinkara at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, the 6,000-capacity arena that promoters Tasman Fighters insist has sold out.
When the 26-year-old Morris first accepted Saturday’s date he was expecting to be considerably further down an undercard also featuring his higher-profile countrymen Teremoana Jnr, Andrew Moloney and Lee Wyllie. The cancellation of the heavyweight rematch between Justis Huni and Kiki Toa Leutele following the death of Huni’s trainer Keri Fui and an injury suffered by Leutele then led to it being elevated, and on what had also since become a pay-per-view on the influential Australian broadcaster Stan.
It is little secret that Tasman have high hopes for the 21-year-old McIntyre, who has been sparring Opetaia in preparation for what perhaps represents his biggest test. The occasion also represents the highest profile of both of their careers, but Morris told BoxingScene: “It’s very exciting. It’s a huge card. It was a privilege to be on this card as it was, let alone to be co-main event. I’m really excited. I’ve had a great camp. This is the fun part, so I’m happy to just get in there now.
“Stan’s a huge platform, so it’s gonna give great exposure to all of us fighters on the night. It’s awesome that the people that couldn’t make it can all tune in from home. It makes it all better for all of us.
“I had no idea that was going to happen. It was a bit of a shock, but very exciting – I’m pumped to get in there. This is the fun part. I’m just ready to go now.
“A win here changes my career drastically. If I beat Max – there’s a lot of hype around him. They rate him, he’s good, so a win here puts me right up there and puts me on bigger and better things, that’s for sure.
“Obviously I’m here to win, but a good performance [even in defeat] makes me go up, I suppose. I’ve nothing to lose, everything to gain, and I know that I’ve every chance of beating him as well.
“There’s no pressure on me. The pressure’s all on him to live up to the hype. Anything that I do is a win for me.”
The 6ft 3.5ins McIntyre towered over Morris during their face-off on Wednesday evening, but the well-built Morris – speaking yards away from Wyllie, whose career was significantly enhanced when as the underdog impressing in defeat by George Kambosos Jnr – said: “Max is a very good opponent. It’s going to be my hardest fight no doubt. We’ve done the work. We’ve done the training. We’ve had some great sparring. You’ve got to treat it like any other fight – there’s no point going in there and worrying about how good he is. I’ll just focus on what I need to do right and if I do what I have to do right I’ve got every chance of winning.
“Toughest; biggest; everything for sure. I reckon I’ll rise to the occasion and take care of business.
“He’s a good boxer. He’s crafty. But there’s holes in what he does, and if I can capitalize on that I’ll steal the show.
“He’s a bit taller than I thought too. But we’ve trained for that. We’ve prepared for a tall, long, rangy opponent so there won’t be anything new to us come fight night. I’m probably a bit more mature than he is – I reckon he’s still growing. He’s only a young fella. I’m just ready to go now, and excited to get in there.”
