Matt McCallum is ready for his “world title fight”.
The undefeated Newcastle prospect faces the biggest fight night of his life on Friday when he faces Mike McGoldrick for the vacant Northern Area super-middleweight championship.
Victory over the Barrow warrior in Bolton could open so many doors for the Jobes Boxing star, but he refuses to look at anyone or anything other than his 37-year-old rival.
“I’m here to take that title,” Matt told punch-lines.
“I feel fantastic – I’ve had a great camp, had good sparring, kept all injuries and niggles at bay so there are no excuses.
“Someone asked me about championships and, yes, fighting for the English title would be amazing.
“But I’m not looking past this fighter, he’s the best I’ve been in with, this is my world title fight.
“I’ve got to get this done and won before I can think of anything else.”
You could certainly not accuse McCallum of taking his eye off the ball.
And he rebuffed any suggestion that this bout has come too early in his career.
While he’s had any number of successful unlicensed fights, he has had only four under the Marquess of Queensberry rules, all points wins, the pick being a North-East derby war with Horden’s Greg O’Neil.
Matt said: “Some people have said stuff like ‘this is only your fifth fight, are you ready for it?’.
“I’m 100 per cent ready for it!
“I’m a 31-year-old in the prime of my life – it’s the best I’ve ever felt.”
That best-ever feeling will be eclipsed if his hand is raised at the Reebok Arena on Friday night in a show which will be screened on Fightzone.
He will be up against one tough cookie in McGoldrick.
The Cumbrian has lost only once in a nine-fight career and that was to top-class Londoner, Zak Chelli, in the final of a BOXXER tournament in November 2020.
He has won eight times, two via stoppage, with five of his Ws coming inside the Bolton Wanderers venue where he lines up on Friday evening.
It will be the first Northern Area super-middleweight title contest since another Cumbrian, Gary Dixon, made a challenge for it at the Federation Brewery in Dunston back in 2004.
That night, Sunderland’s Ryan Kerr took the spoils with a seventh-round stoppage and McCallum would love a similar story in Bolton.
One thing is for certain, it looks some fight.
Words: Roy Kelly
