WHEN Cheavon Clarke stopped him in four rounds at the Ulster Hall in January, Tommy McCarthy genuinely felt that might be it for him as a professional boxer.

With two defeats on the bounce - the first in a European cruiserweight title tilt against Michal Cieslak - his record slipped to 20-6, so what was out there for him?

There is plenty going on outside of the sport with his comedy career taking off, a successful podcast with friend and fellow fighter Tyrone McKenna with whom he has also written a comedy series they hope will be picked up.

But the thrill of competition gradually returned as simply getting in shape relit the fuse and here he is, ready to begin another push towards where he wants to be.

Friday’s opposition may be as modest as they come with Ryan Labourn firmly in the journeyman bracket, but this is simply an outing to get back on the horse and grab the win he needs that could present an opportunity down the line.

And opportunities do present themselves as McCarthy’s former St Oliver Plunkett amateur clubmate Anthony Cacace can testify. Watching his friend scale the mountain is another reason why the desire returned and the Lenadoon man who still feels he has a couple of years left in him to ensure that when he does hang them up, it’s for good.

“I never planned to announce my retirement and with the comedy going well, I’d loads to occupy my mind,” he explained.

“It came to May when I started training again as I was going on holiday and kept training when I got home, but did some boxing training and realised I missed it.

“I was actually training alongside Anto and he said I was being stupid and if I kept my head down and worked hard for the next couple of years, I have the talent to change my life the way he’s changed his. That put it in my head I wanted to come back.

“I’ve operated at a high level against the likes of Chris Billam-Smith who is fighting a unification against Gilberto Ramirez, so I’m around the same age as these guys and I know with my ability, I can get there if I do the right things.

“Over the years, people here would have said Carl Frampton was there to show everyone it can be done, but Anto is someone I really know and one of my closest friends who had no big machine behind him. He’s had to do it all on his own so he’s a big inspiration.”

It’s true that McCarthy’s defeats have come against good opposition, so the former European champion feels he can get back into some form of contention with a little momentum behind him.

He may be viewed as a stepping-stone fighter to promoters, so that can open the door and he wants to be ready to kick it in should he get things right.

His back-to-back defeats against Chris Billam-Smith stung and for a time it ate away at his desire to fight on, but he did so when perhaps his heart wasn’t fully in it.

There are opportunities outside of boxing, but they can be fully explored at any stage whereas a sporting career has a much shorter shelf life.

Barring a freak injury or series of events, McCarthy will win on Friday and he insists he will be ready to go again before the turn of the year.

“I thought I won the first Billam-Smith fight and after the second, I just felt like I didn’t want to box anymore,” he revealed.

“I think I spent two years trying to retire but got offered a world title fight which was signed (to face Arsen Goulamirian) which fell through and then I thought I would retire. But I got the European title fight against Michal Cieslak and then the Clarke fight, so the only thing that was keeping me in was the paydays more than anything.

“I’ve said I don’t want to box past 36 and I’m 33 now, so with how mad boxing can be, a couple of wins and you get a big opportunity.

“I want to get this fight under my belt and then see what can happen as one fight can change your life. When I do hang up the gloves, I want to do it with no regrets, so I don’t look back five years later thinking ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’.”