Super-middleweight: Padraig McCrory (17-0) v Steed Woodall (18-1-1) (tonight, Falls Park, 10pm approx, live on FITE TV/ESPN)
THIS is his manor, his home turf and no-one is going to come in and beat him, vowed Pody McCrory who’ll go head-to-head with England’s Steed Woodall at Falls Park on Friday night.
A late starter to the professional boxing game, McCrory headlines a show for the first time against an unknown quantity from Birmingham who has promised to do all he can to ruin the party in ‘the Park’.
That’s not going to happen says McCrory.
"This is my night,” he said.
“I don't think there's any man in the world who can come to Belfast and beat me."
Earlier this week 29-year-old Woodall said something similar.
“I’ve been in with current and former world champions and I feel this is my time now,” he explained.
Woodall has been a pro for almost a decade now and lost just once in his 20 fights but taking on McCrory as the headline act in Belfast is a considerable step up in class and exposure for him.
He has a lot to do but McCrory certainly does not write off the Englishman’s chances.
"As a pro I've boxed at a better level than him,” he said.
“But as an amateur he was much better than me. He was five-time national champion and he boxed at the World Championships so I think people are overlooking him. He's a solid fighter and he is coming here to spoil the part.
"He's confident but I'm a realist, I'm favourite to win this fight and I'm expecting to win the fight."
He's a realist and when it comes to boxing he admits he’s a pessimist who expects the man in the other corner to be a cross between Mike Tyson and Canelo Alvarez.
"My wife says all the time that I'm always 'worse-case'," he says.
"But my best performances have come against people who I think are dangerous and I think Steed is dangerous. So I have to be switched on and, if I'm not, the party is going to turn bad.
"When you're in the ring it's you against the other fella so anything can happen."
McCrory travelled to Germany late last year and blasted out IBO light-heavyweight world champion Leon Bunn. That win extended his stoppage streak to six but he hasn't quite reached the same level of performance since that career high point. There are contributory factors in that - the win raised his profile and his opponents since then have been content to survive against him.
"My performances since the Bunn fight haven't been what I expected them to be but I was in against two guys who probably weren't here to win," he said.
"They were more worried about surviving but there are no real excuses. Things happen in boxing, you pick up wee niggles here and there but I'm the one who gets in the ring and there are no excuses - I haven't performed to the standard I want to and I think I owe a big performance to the public.
"My main focus is to keep the ball rolling and keep improving."
His last two opponents may have been in survival mode but Woodall is coming to win. The Englishman spent the first three years of his career fighting in the USA and the Dominican Republic and he has come to Belfast with a full training camp behind him under the radar as an unknown quantity.
"He is 18-1 so he doesn't have a losing mentality," McCrory pointed out.
"He signed a deal with Frank Warren so they know he has something and from what I read he's full of ambition and he wants to get to the world title level. If I want to get to that stage I have to beat him. If I got another two or three fights he's an opponent people would be talking about him a lot more because he's a very good British-level fighter.
"People are expecting me to go out and win well but I think Steed is a better fighter than people are thinking.
“But I've built towards this. I'm a naturally reserved guy but the more I get events like this the more I want. I'm fresh, I'm hungry, I'm still willing to improve, I'm still willing to take risks and I don't think we're finished writing my story."
IT was almost midnight by the time Fearghus Quinn ducked through the ropes at the SSE Arena in May. Michael Conlan had been beaten in the main event that night and disappointed fight fans had immediately made for the exits in droves.
But Quinn's hard core following from his native South Armagh stayed on to watch and the Belleeks native didn't disappoint with the latest in a series of impressive wins that improved his record to 6-0. Tonight at Falls Park the volume-punching middleweight who is trained by Irish boxing legend Gerry Storey takes on experienced Ramiro Blanco who has previously shared the ring with world champions Can Xu and Jhonny Gonzalez.
"I'm excited, I’m just looking forward to it," said Quinn.
"It was a disaster the last time (not getting on until nearly midnight) but the result was the main thing. The people who came down to support me stayed on and there was still a good atmosphere. The Mick result sucked the atmosphere out of it and it would have easy for them all to tip on but it was good that they stayed and they created plenty of noise.”
Blanco is tough and has never been stopped in almost 50 fights. That means Quinn could is looking at going eight rounds for the first time. If that’s the case he welcomes the test of his stamina.
"He (Blanco) has been in with some good names,” he said.
“He has 18 wins so he's a good tough opponent for me to test myself against. It's another step up over eight rounds and I've never been above six before. This guy could go the distance and give me a good test over eight rounds so it's a good stepping stone and I've prepared for it.
"I throw a lot of punches and I always have. It's just about keeping that going as the rounds progress up so I'm looking forward to getting into an eight-rounder and showing that I can do that over the longer distance. I have prepared well in the gym and put all the work in so now is the fun part.”
Friday night, Feile an Phobail at Falls Park (first fight 5.30pm, FITE TV from 7pm):
Super-middleweight: Padraig McCrory (17-0) v Steed Woodall (18-1-1)
WBO European Super Lightweight: Sean McComb (16-1) v Alejandro Moya (17-1)
Featherweight: Kurt Walker (7-0) v Jayro Fernando Duran (15-14)
Welterweight: Lewis Crocker (16-0) v Greyvin Mendoza (7-6-3)
Middleweight: Fearghus Quinn (6-0) v Ramiro Blanco (19-25-3)
Welterweight: Kieran Molloy (5-0) v Sam O'Maison (17-5-1)
Flyweight: Conor Quinn (6-0-1) v Bryan Castro (2-6-1)
Welterweight: James Freeman (1-0) v Naeem Ali (2-109-1)
Super-bantamweight: Gerard Hughes (3-0) v John Spencer (1-37)
