Inspired Garry Neale willing to take Tennyson leap

Garry Neale [10(1)-0] is hoping to take the biggest chance afforded to him in career to date this Saturday night in Belfast and pay homage to the man that inspired him to return to the ring.

The undefeated Portsmouth lightweight points out that his grandad, who passed away a few years back, has always been an massive inspiration and was the main reason he ended a four-year absence from the game last September.

The undefeated 30-year-old gets the chance to take a world level scalp when he faces James Tennyson in the Ulster Hall weekend and, driven by the memory of his grandfather, claims he will do all he can to record a career-changing win.

“My Grandad passed away a couple of years back and he’s my biggest inspiration to be as successful as I can. He’s the reason I’m back giving this journey all I have,” Neale told Irish-Boxing.com before discussing the kind opportunity that the ‘A Night To Remember’ headliner is. 

“It’s definitely the biggest opportunity I’ve been given to date. I always train as hard as I can in any preparation for a fight regardless of the man that stands in front of me on the night.”

Stepping up after two fights since returning was always the plan for Team Neale, but they didn’t expect to get the chance against a recent European champion and world title challenger.

Neale is well aware that Tennyson [22(18)-3(3)] is a step beyond domestic level, but it is one which he is willing to take.

“I’m happy to step things up as that was our plan from the start,” revealed the Pompey puncher.

“We’ve not just stepped up a bit, we’ve gone to the very top level, So I’m guaranteed to learn so much from the fight,” he added before stressing a good camp has helped him grow in confidence.

“Camp has gone brilliantly as always. We’ve been working on so much stuff recently. Ready for all situations the fight may bring.

“I’m honestly unsure how the fight will go. The closer it’s got the more confident I’ve become, especially after such a good camp.”