McCrory’s facing make or break next bout

FEARGAL McCrory believes his next bout, which is due to take place before the end of this year, could either make or break his career.

The 33-year-old has landed a ‘really big’ name, who will be announced in the near future for the bout which will take place in Europe and he feels taking on this opponent ‘makes sense’.

“We had a lot of fights offered previously and they weren’t making sense but this one does,” he explained before travelling to New York where he will once again be based for a pre-fight camp.

“It’s a big one. I’ve called for it before publicly and I was offered it a little over three weeks ago, I accepted it and we had everything agreed within the week.

“It’s a big one, a really big one. This is what I want, I want these kind of names, I want these opportunities and I accepted this, I chose this [over fighting at the Odyssey in November].

“This is what I want and I will win the fight, I’m very confident I will win the fight, which I think will be an unbelievable fight.

“A bad performance here or a bad loss retires me, I’m finished. I think that the stage I’m at it’s a long way back, a hard way back. There’s a lot of pressure again on this fight, but I don’t care, pressure doesn’t annoy me.

“I know people say pressure is a privilege.

“ I don’t care about pressure, I’m my own biggest critic, I put pressure on myself to perform every time. Yes, there is added pressure. The last time there was so much pressure because I lost the one before it. This fight I don’t feel as much pressure, I feel the pressure to perform and I know if I do that I win the fight, so it’s good, it’s great, it’s where I wanted to be and I’m happy with it.”

After losing a World title fight with Lamont Roach in June 2024, McCrory went back to the drawing board and he feels since suffering his only professional loss, he has improved and that he will continue to do so next time out.

“From the World title fight, which I lost, it has made me a better fighter, I’ve improved massively and I think my last fight [a win over Keenan Carbajal in March] was my best ever performance,” he added.

“I want to kick on and improve again because I need to improve and keep improving until I get that world title.

“I’m my own biggest critic and what I did learn from that fight is I have to improve massively.

“I learned that and I have improved and by keeping improving when I get that next opportunity, which is going to come, another World title fight will come and when I get that shot I won’t miss. I really won’t.”