By Shaun Brown
“I like it when I finish a fight and my opponent’s face is beaten and smashed up. I want them to need a couple of weeks to recover; I want them to remember me and to never want to fight me again.”
Sounds pretty chilling doesn’t it? Ovill McKenzie 18-11 (7) wasn’t sending out a message to opponent Jeff Evans, ahead of their fight this Friday in Halifax, but merely eluding as to how frustrated he felt after his second fight with Tony Bellew in July of this year.
Their first fight, last December, had it all; drama, knockdowns and a controversial stoppage. McKenzie regrets the way he fought that night and still believes that a third meeting between the two of them is there to be made.
“I know in my heart I can beat him,” McKenzie.
“In the first fight there was no reason for the referee to stop the fight. In the second fight I was thinking too much. I had too many of my mates and other people telling me how to fight him. I couldn’t switch myself on that night. I kept looking for that one shot. It was the poorest fight of my life.”
Despite a fighter always claiming they never look beyond the next guy, it’s clear the 31-year-old part-time security guard won’t rest easy until a third fight happens. Before all that he must contend with all that Evans brings to the ring as both men fight for the vacant Commonwealth light heavyweight title.
Evans 8-1 (1) of Talywain is the latest name to be added to a resurgence in Welsh boxing that has seen the likes of Gavin Rees, Gary Buckland, Lee Selby and pack leader Nathan Cleverly all claim domestic, European and world titles between them in the last 12 months. And as Selby proved in winning the British featherweight title, with a destructive knockout of then champion Stephen Smith in September, it would be dangerous for anyone to overlook an ‘unknown quantity’.
“Anyone who gets in the ring with me I can’t take too lightly,” McKenzie explained.
“Respect to him that he took this fight. He won’t beat me though. Because I work Friday’s and Saturday’s I don’t get much of a chance to see boxing but I have seen one of his (Evans) fights when he was in Prizefighter. He’s not much to look at, a bit scruffy in what he does – I know I’m gonna win this fight.”
McKenzie, himself, also took part in a Prizefighter event in 2009. With two weeks until the event began he found himself answering a call in his car and being asked if he would take part at such short notice.
“It was the best night of my career when I won the tournament. I wasn’t expected to win. Honestly, I thought if I won one fight and got beat in the second that would be fine. Not that I’m happy to lose but at two weeks notice I would’ve been happy with that.”
Throughout his career McKenzie explained to me that he’s often had to take fights at short notice. Given the inconsistency he has shown since his first professional fight eight years ago there have been spells of winning two, three, four even eight contests on the bounce. Only to be interrupted by the odd two or three defeats in between. A victory on Friday night for McKenzie, he hopes, would put paid to getting those unexpected calls with little time to prepare.
“A couple of fights I lost, I know they were taken from me, I know I was robbed. I know deep down when I deserve to win and when I deserve to lose. Sometimes it’s been less than two weeks notice; sometimes it’s been a week, even three days! Once I start getting treated right and I’m given proper notice you’ll the real me every time.”
As the name and face of Tony Bellew lingers in his mind - “I don’t hate the guy, he comes across as a bad guy but it’s just his personality. I can’t hate him for being himself” - there is one other opponent who the need to avenge a defeat to also burns inside him.
“Bob Ajisafe”, said McKenzie. “Apart from Bellew that is the one fight I would like. There’s a little payback to be had for me against him. I want him in the ring but I also want it go twelve rounds.”
With two defeats needing to be rectified I asked McKenzie does the prospect of having an eighth loss on his record mean that the bout with Evans is make or break for him?
“A defeat doesn’t make me or break me no matter who it’s against. I just make sure that I eat plenty of food and don’t train for two weeks when I’ve lost in the past. My girlfriend goes out to get me food and treats me right,” he laughed.
Come Friday night McKenzie will be hoping that the need for comfort food is not necessary.
Ovill McKenzie v Jeff Evans will be shown live on BoxNation, Sky channel 456, this Friday from 8pm
Follow me on Twitter @shaun_brown or email srb31079@btinternet.com.
