‘It’s definitely sh*t’ – Something about Cronin talks ‘doesn’t feel right’ for Craig McCarthy
Something doesn’t smell right to Craig McCarthy.
In fact the Waterford super middle claims the whole Kevin Cronin situation doesn’t just smell fishy it stinks of something a lot worse.
The BUI Celtic super middleweight champion and Kerry favourite Cronin have been mandated to fight for the Irish title since last summer.
After prolonged talks, they eventually agreed to fight and were set to trade leather in September on an RDS card that never got off the ground.
Fan interest hasn’t cooled on the fight since, indeed it’s the opposite, the bout has grown into an eagerly anticipated domestic meeting that fans were hoping would be announced over the Christmas period.
That sense of anticipation increased when ‘The Kingdom Warrior’ hinted big news was incoming, although McCarthy revealed any announcement won’t include him.
‘Built 2 Last’ says he hasn’t agreed to fight Cronin as of yet and suggests he is getting tired of talks and Team Cronin’s approach.
The Deise southpaw believes the Kerry side of the fight are professing too much about other options and upcoming fight dates in a bid to get him to sign to fight on terms that don’t suit him.
“2023 was amazing for me I reached the highest highs, but come the end of the year I got a bit of a headache because of the talks trying getting this Irish title over the line,” he tells Irish-boxing.com.
“They were saying ‘it will be on this show’, and ‘oh there is a show here and there and everywhere’. To be honest I 100% knew it would filter out. I’ve been in this game long enough to know not to get my hopes up.
“Look it’s like this for me, if it doesn’t feel right it’s not right. If it looks like sh*t and smells like sh*t it’s definitely sh*t.
“Everything I was hearing was just that, sh*t.
“I was being told Cronin is in camp for this big show in Galway in 3 weeks. ‘We’ve got a ticket deal for a show in 3 weeks’. I was like nope but they were adamant, again talking sh*t.”
McCarthy is frustrated but not overly concerned. He has says he is open to big-fight offers and would be ok with a keep-busy fight if needs be, although he does hold out hope of bringing Cronin to Waterford in the Summer.
“It’s in God’s hands and God is all-knowing and all-good, so therefor I’m blessed. I know it’s just a matter of time.
“If something came up in the meantime on a big show I’d fight anyone for a nice payday even at a couple week’s notice.
“The way I look at is, what’s life without risks. I love risk and thrive on being the underdog. Life is just an experience.
“I’ve been thinking about getting a stay-busy fight too but who knows.
“My dream would be to fight at home again in early summer, fight for the Irish title on a Ring Kings 3 card. That would be the biggest one for me and it just makes sense. It would be a sell out and Neill Powers cards are always insane.”
McCarthy claims he can have a big year without his Munster rival but says if they do meet the fight won’t emulate the prolonged nature of the talks.
“I’m planning on 3 big fights this year, regardless. I’ll just keep winning and whoever is put in front of me by Neil Power. He knows il fight anyone. The man works his magic for me time and time again. But I’ll end it on this. Craig ‘Built2last’ Mccarthy wins by 4th round KO for Irish title if I fight Kevin Cronin.”
