WAR-terford – Craig McCarthy believes he can’t lose on Home Turf
The fact it’s in Waterford raises the levels of Craig McCarthy‘s belief.
The Déise fighter goes into a massively anticipated BUI Celtic super middleweight title fight with Graham McCormack [8(1)2(1)] at the SETU Arena this coming Saturday night noting that it’s called home advantage for a reason.
McCarthy [9(2)-1(1)-1] believes the Waterford factor will be a big one and play an important part on Saturday.
G-Train will argue he all his career stops have been away from home up to this point and that he has already fought and won in Waterford.
However, former Irish super middleweight title challenger, McCarthy believes his fans, with whom he has a unique relationship, will turn the SETU Arena into the modern-day lion’s den, creating an atmosphere that can only enhance his performance and subsequently hinder this fellow Munster operator.
“Waterford will absolutely raise the roof. I can promise you that,” McCarthy told Irish-boxing.com.
“My crowd just get me, they know my story, they know I’ve been to hell and back twice over and are part of the reason I’m still breathing.”
“I’m so grateful and feel truly blessed to have the support I have. I’ve nothing but love for them all, he adds before addressing the role they may play on the night.
“Graham fought in Waterford before but not against a Waterford man – or me. This will be different and I will tap into that support when I need it. I promise I’ll entertain and Waterford will celebrate together on the night.”
McCarthy also dismissed suggestions that home advantage brings pressure with it. He claims he planned to rebuild this year and recover from the leg break before exploring domestic options, so to have such a fight is a bonus.
“I feel zero pressure for this fight as me and my advisor, who is my brother, had a plan for the year that didn’t involve a big fight. We planned to build back up with three fights after a year off through my injury. But this fight came and changed our plan. I’m the type of person who is open to absolutely everything and anything.”
The Waterford southpaw suffered a horrible leg break when he fought live on Sky against Bradley Rea in Manchester last February of 2022.
Built2Last battled back to fitness despite being told he’d never fight again and returned to the winner’s circle with victory over Seamus Devlin earlier this year.
Speaking in the build-up to this title fight he claims he has returned all the better and points out that the leg break allowed him to improve.
“I also feel breaking my leg was a gift from God. It changed how I train and as a result how I fight – both suit me much better. Just in case ya’ll didn’t notice Built2Last is gone to the next level and has upgraded.”
