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‘You know I’ll end up going to war’- McCormack comes clean about box prediction

Don’t tell anyone, but Graham McCormack is looking forward to another war this weekend.

The ever entertaining Limerick fighter returns to the ring on the Leeside Revolution card in Cork this coming Saturday – and whilst he will more than likely be under orders to box rather than brawl, he doubts he will be able to withstand the urge to fight.

The 32-year-old’s first four outings have all been fan friendly, much to the annoyance of former Irish Champion and fellow crowd pleaser Eddie Hyland.

The coach is adamant his charge could make things much easier for himself by using his skill set and isn’t afraid to say as much in the build up to ‘G Train’s’ fights.

Making things simple would look to the be the best option with a possible Celtic Clash 9 Celtic title fight on the horizon, but the southpaw is predicting war.

“I’ll tell other media boys I am going to box or I am going to do what Eddie tells me, but you guys know me. You know I’ll end up fighting and going to have a war- and between you and me I am looking forward to it,” McCormack tells Irish-boxing.com.

“So now I said that you can’t  be coming to me in the dressing after saying ‘what happened to boxing this guy’ in front of Eddie. I want to enjoy the win,” he smiles.

To suggest the Boxing-Ireland fighter has been in blood and guts, live or die wars since turning over is an exaggeration. It’s more a case of his keenness to fight has prompted journey men opposition to come out of their shell somewhat.

As a result his clashes have been somewhat more competitive than they should have been and a lot more entertaining than your regular early days prospect versus journeyman bout.

It is something McCormack is aware of, something he is trying to change, but maybe not just yet.

“We work on the boxing in the gym. Everyone knows I can fight they have seen that. Look at me in the gym and you can see I can box.

“The opponents I have had- and fair play to them – they come to fight so sometimes or most of the time I have had to fight back,” he adds before suggesting he will benefit down the line from not having things all his own way from the off.

“I am glad really because I know it’s developed me as a fighter. Look I have been caught, I have been dropped and while I am not ashamed of that I think I am learning how to make sure it doesn’t happen to often.

“Plus I got up and won those fights. I have shown I can compose myself get myself together and battle through tough times. Now that can only stand to you. There is learning to all that and honestly I am learning so much with Eddie in the gym. Hopefully I can put that into practice one day.”

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The Treaty county man, who fights former Rohan Date foe Reyhan Todorov at the Neptune Stadium this Saturday, doesn’t take sole blame for testing the nerves of his manager Stephen Sharpe nor the patience of his coach Hyland. 

McCormack points out the journey men he has faced haven’t played their part in allowing him to breeze through a fight or two.

“Look, honestly I haven’t had it easy since I turned pro. I was only saying this the other day every opponent I have had has come to knock me out and beat me up. No disrespect to any other fighter, but we have all seen lads in fights with the opponent just standing there with their hands up throwing no punched back.

“Every time I get in the ring they come to have a war. I have got the win every time, but sometimes I have had to dig deep. Now I am not saying that giving out, but I think it’s a fact. Sometimes I think ‘wouldn’t it be nice to try look flash against a lad just looking to survive’, but then I think ‘I’d hate that’. I’d hate that for the people that come to support me. Ambitious opponents mean I have had good entertaining fights and it means I am learning lessons early. I am sure this one will  be similar.”

McCormack steps back to down foreign journeyman level on the back of a win over Cork South African Jade Karam in March. He claims a step down in level won’t lead to any reduced motivation, nor does he believe a big fight on the horizon will distract him from the job at hand.

“A fight is a fight. The fight with Jade was a really good fight. I really enjoyed that fight and I have a lot of respect for Jade. Everyone that watched it was entertained, but I have a new opponent and a job to do.

“I know there are big fights on the horizon, but I am not looking past Cork.  I know there is the possibility of a big fight in September and I am really looking forward to that, but it’s more motivation than distraction.”

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

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Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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