NOT many British heavyweights get the chance to perform at New York’s illustrious Madison Square Garden, let alone at the tender age of 19. However, that is exactly what Glasgow’s Jay Carrigan McFarlane will be doing tonight (Saturday March 18) on the Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs undercard.

Carrigan McFarlane’s huge opportunity came about due to the fact that he shares a mutual sponsor with Golovkin. Speaking after the weigh-in for his fight in the Big Apple, the young Scot said: “The sponsor that we share is called Rich Energy. They make premium energy drinks. I hadn’t met Golovkin before this week. I had a brief meeting with his team after his fight with Kell Brook [in September], and they said that they’d get me over for his next fight at Madison Square Garden. I thought to myself, ‘That’s brilliant.’ I was so excited that I’d get the watch him fight live. But then a week later I heard from them again and they said, ‘No, no, you’re not watching the show, you’re fighting on it.” I was like, ‘Whaaat?!’ It was an incredible feeling. I just can’t wait to fight now.”

Carrigan McFarlane, who is co-managed by MTK Scotland’s Sam Kynoch and Rich Energy CEO William Storey, admits that the whole experience of being in New York has been different to what he is used to. “It’s been unreal being out here – very cold, though!” he chuckled. “It’s such an amazing city. I’d never been to the States before, so it was great seeing Times Square and all that. The build-up has been mega different to my other two pro fights, which were both in Glasgow. Fighting in Madison Square Garden is not something that usually happens to someone like me.”

While his “ultimate goal is to be heavyweight champion of the world”, his ambitions for the near future are to simply continue to progress as a boxer. “I just want to learn and become a better fighter,” he stated. “I’ve got a lot of power and a great chin, but that can only take you so far. I just need to keep developing myself.

“The Scottish Area title is a dream for me. I don’t think there’s been a Scottish heavyweight champion since around 1957, because of a lack of Scottish heavyweights. There’s still only about three of us at the moment. It’s a possibility hopefully.”