FEILE has always brought out the best in Pody McCrory. The hard-hitting super-middleweight lit up Falls Park in 2019 with a stoppage win against Steve Collins junior and did the same last year when he stopped unbeaten Russian Sergei Gorokhov.
This year’s Feile show – headlined by Michael Conlan v Miguel Marriaga - is indoors at the SSE Arena but McCrory intends to produce the same fireworks against experienced Mexican Marco Antonio Periban (26-5-1).
“It’s a massive event and it’s my first fight in nearly a year so I’m really looking forward to it,” said McCrory who made his pro debut at the Belfast venue five years ago on the undercard of Ryan Burnett versus Lee Haskins.
“Some of the best talent in Ireland is on the bill so it should be a great night.”
McCrory’s last action was in November 2021 when he knocked out Celso Neves with a stunning right hook at the Ulster Hall. That was a seventh stoppage win in 13 outings for ‘The Hammer’ and he will need to be at his best on August 6 against Mexico City native Periban who has been stopped twice in 32 fights.
Periban has been in with some top quality company including former world champions James DeGale and Badou Jack and he challenged Sakio Bika for the WBC super-middleweight title.
“I’ve had two fights at the Feile so far and I’ve produced two knockouts so I’m planning on the exact-same thing,” he said.
“I know it will be a tough test so I am expecting a very hard night.”
Periban stands 6’2” and isn’t the typical come-forward Mexican warrior that fight fans are so familiar with. He uses his height and reach well and can box and the 17 stoppage wins on his record indicates that he can also punch.
“I’m expecting a technical fight,” said McCrory.
“He’s a big puncher as well so I have to be a bit cautious of his power. I’ve been working on a lot of stuff in the gym and I know that what I’ve been doing is going to work well on the night.
“Mexico is renowned for producing tough fighters, top class fighters and Periban has spent many years fighting at the very, very top. He has been at the top level and he’s only been beat by the very best.”
McCrory says he’s expecting a “tough night” and it’ll be a surprise if he doesn’t get one but that’s exactly what he’s been calling for. Although there’s plenty left in his tank, at 34 age probably isn’t on his side and he doesn’t want to hang around waiting for opportunities to find him.
“I’ve been calling for big fights,” he said.
“I’ve accepted big fights and, for one reason or another, some of them just haven’t come through. I’m the home fighter, Periban is coming to Belfast and thanks to Jamie Conlan for making this happen – he’s produced a big fight for me in my home city.
“This is the test that I want. I want to fight the best and I want to see if I can get to the same level as Periban has boxed at and I’ll find out on August the 6th.”
Dublin heavyweight Thomas Carty is the latest addition to the Feile undercard.
HARD-hitting Pierce O’Leary pulverised opponent Robin Zamora with a stunning right hand in the second round of their clash at London’s Copper Box on Saturday night.
The sweetly-timed shot left the Nicaraguan with his senses scrambled and referee Sean McAvoy rightly jumped in to stop him coming under further attack.
The stoppage came after 2.03 of the third round in a fight that was nip-and-tuck until the game-changing shot that took Pet Taylor-trained O’Leary to 10-0.
That was the stoppage of the night in London but fight of the night was the duel between Mark Heffron and Lennox Clarke which Irish-rooted Heffron won to become British, Commonwealth and IBF Intercontinental super middleweight champion.
A stunning first round saw Clarke push Heffron over, which sparked the Oldham man into action and Clarke was floundering for much of the remainder of the round as Heffron landed bomb after bomb on a shell-shocked champion.
The second round evened up with Clarke winging in some big shots on Heffron, but the 30-year-old in his third challenge for the British, employed some stealthy footwork and jabbed more effectively. An uppercut wobbled Clarke in the third as the ferocious exchanges continued.
Clarke established something a foothold in the fourth but, again, it was Heffron who landed the cleaner, more telling shots and the Birmingham man was showing remarkable resilience to hang in there. The Heffron pressure cranked up in the fifth and Clarke appeared to be in retreat and in some sort of trouble. Referee Bob Williams decided he had seen enough and Heffron finally has a British title to take home.
In the bill-topper, Hamzah Sheeraz won the WBC Silver middleweight belt following a fifth round stoppage victory of the rugged Francisco Torres. Meanwhile, Dennis McCann won the WBC International Silver belt with an eighth round stoppage of James Beech jr and Nick Ball retained his WBC Silver title with a defeat of Nathanael Kokololo.
THOMAS Patrick Ward underscored his WBA featherweight title credentials by blitzing Ally Mwerangi inside three rounds at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light last weekend.
The 28-year-old has been ranked as the WBA’s number one contender since March and says he’s ready for his shot at the world title but there is a logjam at the top of the division. A fight between Santa Cruz and Leigh Wood has yet to be made and Ward, fresh off the 33rd victory of his pro career, says it’s time for the Mexican to move on. Santa Cruz is the ‘Super’ champion while Leigh Wood is the ‘Regular’ champion.
"It's Santa Cruz that is holding up the division, he hasn’t fought for the title in two or three years. Either fight for the title or move on,” said Ward.
“Move on, or do something, because there are other fighters waiting for a chance. If Santa Cruz doesn’t fight Wood, then me and Leigh will probably fight. If they do fight, I will take the winner.”
Asked about the prospect of facing Nottingham’s Wood, Ward said: “Leigh had a great fight last time against Conlan and it would be a great fight for me.
“I believe I cause problems for anyone I fight; I’ve got a good boxing brain, good footwork and good hand speed but when you’re fighting world champions, no fight is won easy, but I’ve also got the heart and can dig in.”
