We Have a Title Fight – Graham McCormack to Challenge for BUI Celtic Crown
We have a title fight.
Graham McCormack last week confirmed he faces a significant Scottish step up and will trade leather with former Scottish champ Paul Kean [13(1)-2] in Glasgow next month.
That fight just got bigger for the Limerick man as it was confirmed over the weekend that the BUI middleweight Celtic title will be on the line when they pair meet on November 19.
It’s a massive chance for ‘G Train’ to win a significant domestic strap, put a relative name on his record and take a significant step toward an Irish title shot.
The bout will be just the 34-year-old’s second since ending a period over two years out of the ring. McCormack defeated Jordan Latimer in an entertaining four round bout last month and fights on another Sam Kynoch show in a fight with more at stake in just over a month.
Kean will be known to Irish fight fans from his BUI Celtic title fight with Jay Byrne, the Scot beat the Dub on points back in May of 2018.
The 28-year-old Dundee fighters only two defeats have come in title fights, he lost to Stefan Sanderson, a fighter Jay Byrne defeated, in a Scottish title fight and to Hamzah Sheeraz in a fight for the WBO light-middleweight European ranking title.
The Scot certainly represents a step up for the Treaty county fighter but McCormack will go into the clash confident and told Irish-boxing.com that his return fight with Latimer proved perfect prep.
“I feel it was the perfect comeback fight after so long out of the ring,” he continues.
“I was in with an opponent who came to fight, all guns blazing and trying to win. It forced me to fight hard and work for the win. I definitely preferred that to fighting a journeyman, who is just there to survive. I couldn’t have asked for a better comeback fight,” he adds before reflecting on the win.
“Now that the dust has settled and I watched it back I actually really enjoyed it. It was a war from start to finish. I had to adjust and i did. I won well in the end and landed the cleaner shots and combinations. I followed coach Shaun Kelly’s instructions between rounds too.”
