Time to show the world.
Those are the words of Pat McCormack on the eve of boxing’s greatest show on earth.
Ekaterinburg, a city so deep inside Russia it is almost as far east as China, is the host of the 2019 World Championships and the 24-year-old will be one of Great Britain’s big medal hopes.
The tournament officially opens on Sunday with the opening ceremony and draw, with the first bell rung on Monday at the 5,000-capacity EXPO Arena.
McCormack has been on an incredible journey over the last couple of years with gold at the Commonwealth Games, EU Championships and, most recently, the European Games. He has also won the titles at international tournaments in Romania and Finland.
It would appear Pat is at the height of his powers or certainly not far off.
“Definitely,” he declared. “I’m just starting to peak.
“I think it’s my time now, I’ve fallen short a few times but I think it’s my time now and I want to show the world.”
In fact, the Birtley ABC star is unbeaten since a controversial quarter-final defeat to Uzbekistan’s Shakhram Giyasov at the last Worlds in Hamburg in 2017.
While Pat loves winning, that of course goes without saying, it’s his loathing of defeat which is his driving force.
“I just hate getting beaten,” he told punch-lines.
“Even if I am standing on the silver square of the podium, I hate it.
“Two years ago I lost to the world champion, though how he got the decision I still don’t know when you see how many punches I landed compared to him.
“But when he went on to be world champion I realised I’m not far off.
“I just hope it becomes reality, it’s all right saying it, but it is so hard to do.”
Pat was in brilliant form in Minsk where he struck European Games gold and justified his number one seeding in the U69 kilo division.
He explained the fact he was installed as top seed was a confidence booster rather than a pressure points.
The Washington boxer stopped 2016 Olympic silver medalist Lorenzo Sotomayor in the semi-final before outpointing Russia’s Khariton Agrba in the showpiece.
“It gives me confidence,” he said. “When I was seeded one for the European it felt good and it made me feel I was determined to stay number one.”
Words: Roy Kelly
