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Carl McDonald believes he will stop Dylan McDonagh in Irish title fight


Carl McDonald [4(0)-2(0)] claims it won’t take him 10 rounds to secure victory in the eagerly anticipated Battle of Jobstown set for Good Counsel GAA Club this coming Saturday night.

The Cobra goes to war for the Irish title with neighbour Dylan McDonagh [3(1)-1(0)] in a Celtic Clash bill topper most claim is too close to call.

So evenly matched are the Tallaght duo that a close points win either way is the most common prediction doing the rounds at present.

However, BUI Celtic featherweight champion McDonald believes he will buckle the Irish title around his waist not long after he stopped McDonagh in a fight that headlines ahead of a set from Aslan legend Christy Dignam.

“I’ll get in and go to hell and back for that belt if I have to – but I just feel really good, I don’t think I’ll have to go to hell and back,” McDonald told Irish-Boxing.com.

“I’ve been sparring 12 rounds with three heavier opponents every time, doing four rounds each –  one opponent over ten rounds shouldn’t be a problem. The way I feel, though, I don’t think I’ll need them [ten rounds].”.

The 29-year-old points out he was always a big-punching little guy but stresses some changes in preparation mean he now gets the most of the pop he has at his disposal.

“The one thing about me was that I could always actually punch – just I never did strength and conditioning. You could see it against the journeymen. In March, I dropped your man [Trayan Slavev] twice in the first round but I was just wrecked, knackered tired.”

“That was all from just half-training and only taking it half-serious. Since I’ve been putting the hours in and taking it seriously, I can feel my body developing, big time.”

With the fight at a catchweight, McDonald has to make 120lbs by Friday afternoon but, speaking last night, he wasn’t worried about the scales at all.

“Even tonight [Tuesday], after training I was only 123lbs, there’s only three pounds to go,” revealed Golden Cobra graduate.

“I nearly expected that on Thursday. I’ve no worries whatsoever, there’ll be no killing myself, I did everything right in this camp, I’ve been eating right, training right, looking after my body.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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