HAVING watched fellow Irish fighters come unstuck since the turn of the year, Tommy McCarthy knows there is absolutely no room for complacency when he puts his European cruiserweight title on the line against Romania’s Alexandru Jur on Saturday (live on Sky Sports approx 7pm).

Two weeks ago in the same Manchester Arena ring, McCarthy’s stablemate James Tennyson saw his hopes of climbing into the top bracket of the lightweight division crushed in just 130 seconds, so McCarthy is taking absolutely nothing for granted against Jur who held the same European title back in 2017.

‘Mac Attack’ seems to have found his groove as a professional in recent times having gone to Italy and taken the WBC International belt from Fabio Turchi and then the vacant continental strap with a points win over Bilal Laggoune on Halloween night.

The switch to coach, Pete Taylor after hooking-up with manager, Mark Dunlop appears to have worked the oracle as McCarthy has gone from a position where his career seemed to have hit a roadblock to the point where he could be a victory on Saturday away from fighting for the big one.

With so much at stake and having come so far in his career, there is no looking past 36-year-old Jur despite the challenger entering this fight with three defeats in his last five outings.

McCarthy knows only too well what it is like to be fighting to save his own career and acknowledges the Romanian will be scrapping to do likewise on Saturday.

“I’m expecting a tough fight,” said the 30-year-old Lenadoon man.

“There is no room for complacency and Jur has had as much notice (for the fight) as I have, so I expect he’s had a great camp.

“He looks in great shape and this is a chance for him to put himself right in the big for fight fights and paydays, so I’m expecting him to give it everything he’s got.

“I’ve really stayed on top of things in the last few weeks of camp because the guys who have come over for the last few Matchroom shows have caused upsets and I really think that’s because people have been looking past them (opponents) to see what’s on the other end.

“There’s so much talk about me getting a world title fight, but I’m putting that to the back of my mind as if things don’t go my way then it’s null and void, so I need to keep concentrated and make sure I’m on form.

“This could be his last roll of the dice, so that adds to the danger as he can change his career in one fight. I’ve been in his position before so I know the mindset going into a career-changing fight.”

Jur is a solid operator with plenty of experience at this level, so this is not going to be an easy night’s work. But McCarthy feels that his preparation has been as good for this fight than it’s ever been and is predicting an explosive performance where he plans to be the aggressor and take it to the challenger.

That confidence comes from his recent victories that have completely turned his career around with two huge wins that has earned him a top-10 rating with the WBA, WBC and IBF.

A successful defence of his European title on Saturday will see him rise further and potentially fight for a world title next and that is exactly where he wants to be.
It wasn’t so long ago when McCarthy was going 12 months without fights, but that is a distant memory as he now stands on the brink of bringing the big nights back to his home city.

“To get where I am took a bit longer than expected, but everything happens for a reason,” he reflected.

“I’m here now but I want to go beyond this (level) and the only way I can is to get a big win and big performance.

“Every fight has been good to help get me to the next stage. The wins over (Fabio) Turchi and (Bilal) Laggoune over the last year have proven I’m ready for it as they are big wins over world-ranked fighters.

“The Turchi win is the one that opened the door for me and got me into the mandatory position for the European title.

“Then winning the European title has got me further up the ladder, so a big performance here - touch wood - opens all the doors, but I can’t look past this guy or afford any slip-ups.”

McCarthy has been in a good run over form with two huge wins including his European title victory over Laggoune on Halloween
2Gallery

McCarthy has been in a good run over form with two huge wins including his European title victory over Laggoune on Halloween

That is a wise approach given what Belfast fight fans have witnessed this year with title defeats suffered by Carl Frampton, Sean McComb, James Tennyson and Paul Hyland Jnr.

McCarthy insists he will reverse that trend and ensure the title remains in Belfast, but has bigger plans ahead.

Under Taylor, everything seems to have come together and has matured as a fighter, delivering on the big nights. He seems to be riding the crest of a wave and will rightly enter as favourite on Saturday.

There is so much at stake in a fight that could open the door to the big one and McCarthy knows it, so should he perform as he can, then it should be another huge night.

“I’m improving all the time, maturing as a fighter and feel like I’m hitting my peak,” he insists.

“I’m growing in confidence because of the results I’m getting. My last two fights have been title fights and I’ve come out on the winning side.

“The big dream is the Odyssey (world title fight) but none of that happens unless I win on Saturday, so I’m fully focussed on the task at hand.”