SEAN McComb admits he would "love it" if he got the chance to avenge his Commonwealth Games box-off defeat to fellow Belfast fighter Joe Fitzpatrick at the upcoming Irish Elite Senior Championships.
The lightweight pair have met twice in the past two years, with Immaculata's Fitzpatrick (pictured) getting the nod from the judges on both occasions. And while McComb is happy to admit the better man won in the 2013 Ulster Seniors final in Derry - "I fought his fight and he beat me fair and square" - last May's box-off is another story altogether.
There were angry scenes at the Dockers Club when Fitzpatrick's hand was held aloft. McComb felt he was a convincing winner - the judges saw otherwise. Fitzpatrick went on to be one of the stars of the Northern Ireland team in Glasgow, returning home with a silver medal around his neck.
Asked if he was hoping for a rematch in the coming weeks, should Fitzpatrick enter the Irish seniors, McComb's response was unequivocal. "I would love one. I would love that, I'd love it. Especially in Dublin, bigger ring, neutral judges, where everything would just be fair. "I know I'm capable of beating him, and he knows it. I just want to get the opportunity to do that fairly. "Last year in the Dockers, I won the fight clearly. I know I won it clearly, and he knows I won it clearly." McComb admits missing out on the Commonwealths was a bitter pill to swallow, one that was made all the more difficult to take as it came just two months after a galling Irish senior final defeat to David Oliver Joyce.
Bidding to successfully defend his 60kg title, McComb used his superior footwork and longer reach to dominate the St Michael's, Athy man for the majority of the three-round bout - or so he thought.
Once again, he ended up on the wrong end of the judges' scorecards. Joyce would go on to enjoy success with Irish teams on the international stage before starring in the lucrative AIBA Pro Boxing tournament.
McComb was left to watch from the sidelines again. Same old story. 2014 won't be missed. "A few things didn't go my way. It obviously wasn't meant to be and I just have to drive on and make up for it in 2015, which is a more important year for me," says McComb. "It's hard to get back and get motivated - when you know you should've been number one, going away to all those competitions for Ireland. You think, 'I'll keep going until the Commonwealth Games', but then the exact same thing happens. "But I'm not going to dwell on the past. I've been putting in hours and hours of work over Christmas in preparation - there's been no alcohol, no nothing. "I'm hungry for it again, and it's good to have that hunger about you because it lets you know you can't leave any stone unturned."