WHEN Tyrone McKenna had his hand raised after being awarded a unanimous decision win at the York Hall in London on February 21, 2020, it would be fair to say Mohamed Mimoune was less than impressed.

The Frenchman was indignant, sat in the centre of the ring and refused to leave despite the second ‘Golden Ticket’ light-welterweight semi-final to follow.

Some agreed that Mimoune had been given a raw deal and that the Belfast man was fortunate to get the decision, yet others felt the protests were over the top and ‘The Problem’ should have shown a little more grace.

Either way, that night still rankles with McKenna wishing to remove all doubt he is the better of the pair, while Mimoune is hell-bent on revenge. A rematch will provide fireworks and it is here, as they will collide once more at the SSE Arena on Saturday on a card aptly named ‘Repeat or Revenge’.

McKenna had initially decided to retire following defeat to Lewis Crocker at the same venue back in December, but having reversed his decision, there was only one fight that he wanted.

“When I sat down with (manager) Jamie (Conlan) and said I was coming back, he asked me who I wanted to fight. There was only one name and that was Mimoune as it’s a fight I always wanted to revisit,” he confirmed.

“I believe I deserved the win but people don’t see it the same as me, so it’s a tarnish on my record even through I thought I won. I’m a man for the fans and I want to prove to people that I did it once and can do it again.

“There is a genuine dislike between us. It’s a proper grudge match but I didn’t want to come back for easy fights. I need a fight where I need to put in a proper session and train hard because I know I need to dig in and be at my best. I got what I wanted, so I’m excited and can’t wait for the war.”

To shed the excess retirement pounds and get back in the fight zone, ‘The Mighty Celt’ opted to do things a little different this time around.

Instead of going straight to Dublin to work with head coach Peter Taylor, he spent time in Phuket, Thailand for a gruelling few weeks with boxing coach and friend, Conor McBride.

It was all business, pushing himself to the limit in the heat and humid that helped him get back into fighting condition and steel him for the challenge ahead.

“I needed it,” he stressed.

“Coming off the retirement, mentally, I needed something to throw me into deep water and shock me a bit. Going over there was hard, but it meant I could fully concentrate on boxing as there was no going back to the house like I do when in Dublin.

“I put on a lot of weight when I retired, but this was a good place to get the weight off, get the fitness back and get me in the right frame of mind to fight.

“The heat was insane, but I needed it to kick-start the camp and then coming home to Dublin, I was a lot skinnier and could get stuck in.”

Retirement seemed like a good idea at the time as there are only so many wars in the ring one can have. But as the weeks passed the civilian life set in, there was a void.
Not just the competition in the ring, but the routine of training and the motivation to keep pushing was missing. The time away, albeit brief, relit the fire.

“When I retired, I realised how much I hated retirement,” he revealed.

“I thought retirement would be good as I could chill out, but I want nothing to do with that again.

“I love boxing, love training and love how I feel mentally and physically. I put a lot of weight on in retirement and I wasn’t happy, but now I’m back to being skinny, fit and have a new passion for boxing. That’s made me train harder than ever.”

And that determination will be required as Mimoune will not be short of motivation this week.

Since their meeting in 2020, McKenna has boxed five times - winning two - to his opponent’s three, facing the likes of Ohara Davies, Regis Prograis, Jose Felix and Lewis Crocker, whereas Mimoune’s bouts took place in the United States with two of those losses.

Both men have more than pride to fight for this week, but career prospects and therefore, it promises to be a real battle.

McKenna likes to go to war despite having the tools to make fights a little easier for himself. He knows that is coming down the track and as a headliner at the SSE Arena for the first time is keen to make it a night to remember for the fans and himself.

He is aware that Mimoune will be determined to take the outcome out of the judges’ hands, but believes since their first meeting, he has added more strings to his bow that will shine through.

“He’ll come out all-guns-blazing, but that will be his downfall,” he predicts.

“The last one was a toe-to-toe war but it was in a 16-foot ring where if I took a step back, I was in a corner. This time the ring will be bigger and I’m a different fighter.

“I was only with Pete Taylor for six weeks before the first fight, so had no time to gel. This time I will be a lot smarter with my footwork, hand speed and combinations are a lot different than the last time. I think I’m a much smarter fighter and he has gone backwards.

“His emotions will get the better of him where he will try to blast me out, fight with his heart rather than his head, but I will stick to my plan. I know what works and what doesn’t from the first fight, so that is what I have been working on.”