Weight Division: Light-Welterweight
Record: 12-0-1
Honours: Current BUI Celtic Light Welterweight Champion
Twitter: @Tyronemck
I would just like to thank Tyrone for agreeing to meet me and I would like to welcome him to the show. So let’s start things off by finding out ….
Q1) How did you get into Boxing?
A: My brother and me, well my brother mostly were always fighting in the street, I was eight and my brother was nine and with a boxing club down the street, my daddy decided to take us there to learn to fight. We were always just messing about and not taking it serious, just going one or two days a week and not really training, but when I turned eleven I started to win everything and I started to take it more serious when I found out I was good.
Q2) You started your career out in America on the east coast, how did that come about?
A: In Philly yeah, I was in work one day and I got a phone call from Mark Ablett, he was sending a few boxers out to Philadelphia and he asked if I wanted to turn pro with him and get managed by Tom Moran, so I said of course as who wouldn’t want to go to Philly.
Q3) Why do you think it didn’t work out there for you, as you seemed to only have one or two fights in a year, what was the reason for that?
A: I was going out and having a fight, then my management was unable to get me another fight so I had to go home for a couple of months, putting on loads of weight and getting unfit then going back out to start getting my weight down and build my fitness. It was to inconsistent and I decided it wasn’t working out. I had a good run with five fights out there and I enjoyed my time, learned a lot and sparred some great people so it was good experience anyway.
Q4) You made the decision to come back home to fight on the UK and Ireland scene, what made you make that decision?
A: As I said I was too inconsistent in America, came home and I was talking to my brother about getting fights which I did for a year then I signed with MGM and that was the best move of my career so far.
Q5) How did it come about that you signed with MGM Matthew Macklin’s Gym in Marbella?
A: I went over to spar, they are great people and I was in talks with them, when I asked to go over to spar, Derry Matthews was fighting Terry Flanagan and he needed a southpaw sparring partner so I went over for it and sparred Derry, that is where I got to meet Anto and MGM and they said they would sign me. As I said the best move of my career.
Q5A) Are you going out to train a lot in Spain?
The whole of this year I have been out in Spain training with Danny Vaughn, I have really learned a lot this year, it is about eight weeks before a fight I would go out and train full time, eat healthy, hard work.
Q6) After the win against Sean Creagh at the Boxnation event at the Titanic exhibition centre, you told the reporters (including myself) directly after the fight, you would be interested in a fight with the winner between Phillip Sutcliffe Jnr V Chris Jenkins, Obviously Phillip Sutcliffe won the fight, but have you had a chance to watch the fight back, and did you see anything you could exploit against Sutcliffe Jnr?
A: I watched the fight back, it was a great fight, Chris Jenkins is a great fighter and also Phil Sutcliffe who won, he looked like he was hitting hard, there is stuff that I seen that I could exploit but I think a fight will come in the near future so I don’t want to say to much.
Q7) If a fight with Sutcliffe Jnr does not materialise what type of fighters would you be looking at next, potentially guys listed on the British & Irish boxing rankings? At the minute the British and Irish Light Welterweight Division is pretty stacked with people like Ricky Burns, Ashley Theophane, Tyrone Nurse (British Champion), Jack Catterall, John Wayne Hibbert, & Anthony Upton to name a few, any of them interest you?
A: All of them, I want everybody, I am not going to dodge no one, I want to fight everyone, I want to be in exciting fights. I don’t want my fans to say he cherry picks fights, I want to fight the best. Tyrone Nurse, I would love to fight him as I think our two styles would gel well together, we’re tall and it would be a good interesting fight.
Q8) you mentioned Tyrone Nurse, he is the current British Lightweight Champion (140lbs) 34 (7 KO’s)-2-1, do you think you would be ready for a step up to a fighter with the experience he has?
A: I don’t think it will be the next fight, but hopefully and maybe this year. 100% I would like to fight for the British title this year and Tyrone Nurse, though he is moving on himself and he is saying he wants to fight bigger people on the world stage so he may vacate the belt, who knows.
Q9) Have you a set plan of what way you want to progress, British title, Commonwealth, European then going for a world title etc or is it your plan to get to a world title fight sooner rather than later?
A: I want to do everything but that is down to the management, they have a plan and I will be speaking to them next week and the start of the new year, they will tell me what the plans are but I want titles in every fight, I have twelve fights under my belt and I am ready to take on the big names.
Q10) Do you see yourself staying at Light Welter-weight for the time being as you are big for that division, plus a step up to Welterweight could potentially see big fights against, Bradley Skeete (British Champion), Frankie Gavin, Sam Eggington (WBC International Champion), John Thain, & Peter McDonagh (Irish Champion).
A: I was Welterweight when I signed with MGM, and I got down to Light-Welterweight and I feel far more comfortable at this weight. I fought Light-Middleweight, fought all over the place. This is the weight I like being at when I am full training and getting consistent fights.
Predications for some big upcoming fights in and around your weight class.
Danny Garcia V Keith Thurman
I am not a big fan of Danny Garcia, I like Keith Thurman, he had a great fight last year against Shawn Porter, I fancy him to do the job.
Kell Brook V Errol Spence
I think Errol Spence is unbelievable, I went to the world youth championships with him and I believe he won them, every pro fight he has looked unbelievable so I think there will be a big shock if he does Kell Brook.
Do you think Ricky burns will fight Adrian Broner?
I don’t know, I don’t know if Ricky Burns would be big in America.
Is there any fights locally or further afield that you are looking forward to?
GGG V Canelo, I can’t wait for that if it gets made, and locally Declan Geraghty V Tennyson, I think 2017 is going to be a big year, Brook V Khan could happen, plenty to look forward to.