By Terence Dooley
Tyrone McKenna (16-0-1, 6 KOs) has revealed that he did not have to think twice when offered an outing against fellow undefeated prospect Jack Catterall (21-0, 20 KOs) at the SSE Arena, Belfast on June 30.
The Belfast-based boxer was originally pencilled in to fight Phil Sutcliffe Jnr. but was offered a crossroads fight against the Chorley-based former British light-welterwight titlist when Dublin’s Sutcliffe was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
The news left McKenna feeling enthused about the fight, which he believes is a better one than the original and will prompt him to raise his game.
“When I heard about Sutcliffe having the accident, I was panicking thinking I was going to get hit with a lesser opponent,” he said when speaking to The Irish News.
“But MTK and BT Sport have pulled it out of the bag and came back with Jack Catterall so I’m even more buzzing for this fight than I was for Phil Sutcliffe. It has the ingredients to be the fight of the night, so I’m excited.
“Everyone in Ireland was buzzing for the Sutcliffe fight but there wasn’t much of a buzz in UK boxing and this is completely different—ever since it was announced my phone has gone insane. Everyone has been going mad for this fight and I’ve even seen Tyson Fury tweeting about it and other big names in boxing. That shows you the magnitude of this fight for me, it’s a massive step-up and it’s a massive opportunity for me and I’m going to grab it with both hands.”
The two men are former sparring partners, so each knows what to expect of the other, with McKenna in particular geared up to produce his best in order to post a win and move further into title contention.
“He is slick and he has a good defence so all-round he is very good,” he added. “I know that and I know I’ll have to be the best Tyrone McKenna on the night to beat him. I believe in my skills and I believe I have the skills to beat him. I train very, very hard. I put the work in in the gym and I have a great team behind me. [Trainer] Danny Vaughan has a gameplan and as long as I execute it there’s no reason why I shouldn’t win on the night.”
Ohara Davies is a possibility for the winner, and the Londoner has already put a shot across McKenna’s bows by picking Catterall for the win.
“Ohara Davies hates me, but I just laugh at that,” said McKenna. “He can say what he wants because it’s good that people are speaking about me whether it’s good or bad. It shows that I’m in their mind and I’m on their radar for these big fights.”
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