Belfast Cruiserweight Is Back in Action Just Four Weeks After His Ring Return
Tommy McCarthy is delighted to be back in regular action, but the Belfast cruiserweight is aiming for another early night on Saturday at the SSE Odyssey Arena.
Former Irish Elite amateur champion McCarthy (10-1 as a pro) takes on Manchester-based Cameroonian Blaise Mendouo (4-7) over six rounds on the undercard of the ‘Frampton Reborn’ fight bill in his hometown of Belfast this weekend.
After a nearly a year out of the ring, Saturday’s bout marks McCarthy’s second fight in the space of four weeks following his one-round demolition job on Hungarian Peter Hegyes last month.
While Mendouo has suffered seven career defeats, the visitor has only been stopped once – by hard-hitting Englishman Daniel Dubois – but McCarthy is confident that he can deliver another all-action display.
“Hopefully it’ll be more of the same,” said the 27-year-old. “I think y opponent is a bit more durable, so hopefully there’s a bit more about him. It might take a bit more than one round, but if I can get him out of there in one round, I’ll do it.
“You can expect some good, smart, sensible and clever boxing,” continued McCarthy. “I always want to look good and box brilliantly, so hopefully I can get the knockout.”
Prior to his ring return last month, McCarthy had not fought since November of last year when he suffered his only pro defeat – a points loss to England’s Matty Askin, who subsequently went on to claim the British title.
And the former Irish amateur heavyweight champion is delighted that his brief ‘semi-retirement’ period is now at an end.
“It’s finally over so I’m buzzing like your cousin and looking forward to putting on another good show on Saturday night,” said McCarthy. “It’s great for me to me busy. Boxing’s what I want to do and what I was born to do, so I’ll keep doing it because I can’t complain when I’m getting the fights.”
Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton tops Saturday’s bill, making his ring return against Mexican Horacio Garcia in a 10-round featherweight bout, live on BT Sport and BoxNation, while Jamie Conlan challenges for the IBF super-flyweight title against Filipino champion Jerwin Ancajas.
Paddy Barnes also features on the bill, taking on Nicaraguan Eliecer Quezada for the vacant WBO intercontinental flyweight title.
Header photo courtesy of MTK Global
