PETE Taylor believes the public are about to see the best version of Tommy McCarthy there has been as the Lenadoon man prepares to defend his European cruiserweight title against Romanian veteran Alexandru Jur in Manchester on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
 
‘Mac Attack’ has been on an excellent run of form since linking up with the Dublin-based coach and is beginning to fulfil his potential as a professional fighter with a WBC international title win on away soil against Fabio Turchi before defeating Bilal Laggoune for the European belt ball on Halloween.
 
McCarthy always has a fine skillset, but his work-rate in fights was sometimes his undoing and Taylor is expecting that the hard work in the gym is going to translate to another career-best display this weekend.
 
“I know this is an old cliché, but this has been his best camp and I think you’ll see a different Tommy McCarthy in this fight,” Taylor predicts.
 
“I think he has been conservative (with his punches) because he would be a bit wary of blowing out, especially over 12 rounds, so he’s always started slow. He is in super condition for this one as it’s been a super camp.”

A victory could open the door to a world title opportunity later this year, so there are no plans to take any major risks from the opening bell this weekend.
 
First and foremost, the plan will be for McCarthy to dominate the fight and build a winning position rather than look to chase a highlight-reel KO from the off.
 
“Primarily, it’s get the win first and everything else is a bonus,” Taylor added.
 
“We aren’t going out to attempt anything spectacular (to begin with). The main thing is to get the win out of the way because these fights are all potential banana skins.
 
“We aren’t complacent; this is the man to beat and this is Tommy’s world title fight on Saturday.”
 
Manager, Mark Dunlop knows only too well what a gung-ho approach could result in having watched another of his stable, James Tennyson, come unstuck in the opening round at the Manchester Arena a fortnight ago.
 
A victory could see his man move closer to the mandatory position for a world title challenge, but Dunlop insists there is a major job to be done on Saturday night before he will look to see the lie of the land.
 
“Until we get the hand raised, we don’t want to look too far, but from a manager’s point of view, I want to be pushing on for a world title shot,” he confirmed.
 
“This will help Tommy climb up the rankings into the top five. He’s top five with the IBF anyway and really is top three as they have two (places) unranked and at some point they are going to have to call a mandatory, so we’re not far away.”