Despite having amassed just five professional wins, Luke McCormack will face Kay Prospere for the vacant British super-lightweight title this Saturday.
At first glance, it seems like an audacious attempt to accelerate his progression but, when you consider the Olympian’s wealth of amateur experience, a shot at the Lonsdale Belt does not appear quite so ludicrous.
Indeed, he would prefer to have been more active over the past two-and-a-half years but, even before making his pro debut, McCormack was building the foundation of a promising career with head coach Ben Davison.
Speaking with Boxing News, the 31-year-old insisted that such training has prepared him for this opportunity on the undercard of Liam Davies vs Nathaniel Collins in Birmingham.
“I feel like I’m well ahead of my record, because I’ve been down in Essex training with the pros for four or five years now. I just haven’t had [enough] opportunities to fight.”
Ending his distinguished amateur career following a defeat to Andy Cruz – the best operator he has ever faced – McCormack came away from Tokyo with dreams of reaching world honours in the paid ranks.
He was then introduced to the training trio of Davison, Lee Wylie and Barry Smith, who all lent their expertise in a way he had never previously experienced.
“I was going to train with my amateur coach but one of my friends, Mark Dickinson, said Ben would be happy to train me and [twin brother] Pat. I trained with him for one day and [decided to stay].
“All the little details made it a lot different to what I was used to. I was never really bothered about video [analysis] but, since coming here, it’s made each fight a lot easier. It’s like you know what to expect before it even happens.
“It’s about looking at your opponent and knowing how to react to what he’s doing, or how to capitalise on what he’s doing.”
Sure, there appears to be a real sophistication to his training but, equally, McCormack acknowledges that experience under the bright lights is what every developing fighter needs.
He was therefore happy to go 10 rounds against Kane Gardner in February and, having done so, he now feels fully equipped to complete the 12-round distance.
“I’d like to have been more active but there’s nothing I can do now. I just took the opportunity as it presented itself. As soon as Ben said, ‘Do you want to fight for the British title?’, I snapped his hand off straight away.”
For all his amateur achievements, winning the British title has always been an ambition of McCormack’s and, if he defeats Prospere, the Sunderland man will look to make three defences and win the belt outright.
