McCrory hopes to blossom in ‘The Garden’

FEARGAL McCrory is looking forward to what is arguably the biggest fight of his professional career so far this coming Thursday night on what is definitely the biggest stage he has graced thus far when he takes on Nikolai Buzolin in Madison Square Garden.

And while he’s excited to have the opportunity to grace the storied venue in New York, the Tyrone pugilist admits he’s trying to take the where out of the occasion by focusing only on what he’s there to achieve.

“The venue has provided some extra motivation and that’s all I’ve been using it for because I can’t get caught up with it being at the Garden,” he explained.

“ I have to make sure I look back at fighting in the Garden with good memories and the only way that happens is with me performing and not scraping a result, it’s about me performing.

“It’s just another fight. It’s me, him and the referee in a ring. It doesn’t matter where it is and that’s the way I have to approach it.”

The Coalisland man was due to fight Congolese-American Gerffred Ngayot in Time Square’s Sony Hall in June but that bout was cancelled after ‘Fearless’ was forced to go under the knife to rectify a potentially dangerous hernia problem.

With the surgery having been a success and having followed his rehabilitation plan to the letter, McCrory is delighted to have entered his training camp in New York at more or less fighting weight, which has meant his only focus has been on preparing for Thursday’s bout.

“It has been a massive help to have entered camp at a good weight because now and again training camps can be about making weight instead of getting better, but that hasn’t been the case this time,” he explained. “Everything is where it needs to be. It’s been about developing, learning and being the best I can.”

Having enjoyed an issue free build-up to his 15th professional bout, McCrory is keen to keep his undefeated record intact with an eye-catching performance in ‘The Garden’.

“It’s the same with every fight, I want to make a statement but it’s very important with this one,” he acknowledged. “But we’re just focusing on the performance because if I do that the result will take care of itself,

“If I perform, I win and that’s the main objective here. I have to make sure I perform to the best of my ability and everything else will look after itself.”

While confident that he will have too much in his armoury for Buzolin, who has lost his last two fights, McCrory admits this bout isn’t without risk as his 36-year-old opponent has experience at a variety of weights.

“He’s fought as high as light-welter, so he will be confident coming into it because it’s his first fight back at super-featherweight in quite a while,” Feargal explained.

“He will expect me not to be as naturally as strong as other guys [he’s fought at a higher weight] which is probably correct, but he’s well-schooled, he hits hard and he can be awkward.

“Every fight is a risk, there are no easy fights. He’s had plenty of notice for the fight, he’s based in New York, so he’ll have plenty of support as well – nothing compared to what I will have, to be fair. He’s definitely confident coming into it, he’ll be well prepared and he’ll have a game-plan in place and he’ll be out to execute it.

“Yes, it’s a risky fight, but they all are, they’re all dangerous, but whatever he brings, even if it’s the best version of him, we’re just focused on the job that we have to do and I’m really looking forward to it.”