a day ago
Training in Freddie Roach's gym has Matty McHale ready for title test
'Knowing me, I'd do something daft and get myself injured,' says the Edinburgh super-flyweight. He's smiling and poking fun at himself but there's a serious side to the decision to step aside, too. When your hands are your tools and you've worked so hard to put yourself into this position, there is no point in taking any unnecessary risks.
McHale, schooled by venerated boxing coach Terry McCormack in the same Lochend Boxing Club that once moulded Josh Taylor, stands on the cusp of greatness. The last time he was on the court at the Playsport Arena, it was to fight Brandon Daord for the British title in February.
Daord got the nod from the judges on that evening but it was close and could have gone either way. McHale disappointment quickly turned to joy, however, when the chance arose to fight for the Commonwealth belt, one of the benefits of competing at the lighter end of the weight categories where opportunities of this nature tend to come around more frequently than they do for the bigger beasts of this business.
McHale is not in any huge rush but at 29 years old and with a glittering amateur career behind him there is a clear desire to start to push on in his quest for greatness.
'My performance for the British was brilliant and I was absolutely gutted as I thought I'd got it by about three rounds,' he admits. 'I should maybe have taken it out of the judges' hands. But we've dissected the fight, me and Terry, and it's opened our eyes to what's needed at this level. And I'm ready to make a statement this time.
'This opportunity has rolled around pretty soon after the last one which must tell you that I'm doing something right. In my eighth fight I fought for the British title and in my ninth I'm right in for the Commonwealth title. So, that's showing you that I am highly thought of.
'And it's due to all my training and all my trainers who put so much time into me. They must see I work hard, because they give me 100%, I give them 100%. And I believe everything's going to come good in this one. It's going to be fireworks from me, from the start to the finish. A big performance.'
Determined to leave no stone unturned, McCormack surprised McHale at two days' notice with the decision to move most of the training camp for this fight to Los Angeles. His charge didn't need to think for too long before agreeing.
It was a perfect Busman's holiday, McHale training at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood – the Scot points to the cap picked up from the gym on that trip – and sparring with world champions and leading contenders like John 'Scrappy' Ramirez and Anthony "The Princess" Olascuaga. 'He's called that as he's meant to be high maintenance,' explains McHale, laughing.
It was a month spent living the life and McHale believes the benefits will be evident come Friday night.
'It was all about learning how this level of fighters, the world champions, how they perform and how they spar,' he adds. 'So, we just took ourselves away from here, took ourselves out of our comfort zones, to test ourselves. And I need to thank all my sponsors for allowing me to take this opportunity.
'Freddie Roach was amazing. He and Marie, his wife, were so helpful. They let us in there all the time and anything we needed, we just had to speak to him. I really appreciate his time and everything he's done for me. Everybody at the Wild Card gym was amazing. We sparred world champions, we sparred the WBA ranked number two, and it was great work.
"All the guys I worked with were absolutely fantastic but this is the work that showed me, you know what, I belong up there too. And I belong, and if I keep working as hard as I do, I'll be up there shortly with these guys.'
Ticking the tourist boxes around California had to be kept to a minimum on this occasion. 'We did a bit of sightseeing in the the first week or so, went to Santa Monica Beach and everything.
'But, after that, it was just about being in that zone where I train, get back, rest, eat something then I'm out training again. I wasn't there for a holiday. People were saying to me, 'you're so lucky'. I wasn't lucky – I was there working as hard as I could.
"All that amazing fast food and I couldn't touch any of it! I was so disciplined over there, and I enjoy being that way. That's what is going to take me to the top.'
