almsn
01-13-2010, 06:06 PM
EITHER Kevin McIntyre is feeling chirpy or he has mastered the art of acting during his recent spells of inactivity. Paisely’s former British welterweight champion seems to be in fine fettle ahead of this Friday’s (January 15) eliminator for his old title against Heywood’s Mark Thompson. The Altrincham opportunity is McIntyre’s chance to wipe out the last two years which, a February 2009 stoppage of Jay Morris aside, have been pretty miserable.
From the late 2007-early 2008 high of back-to-back wins over Kevin Anderson, Mcintyre was then: stripped of the British title (unfairly in BN’s opinion) due to injury; forced to endure a near-nine-month layoff; hammered by new champion Kell Brook in a round in November 2008; and, in his chance to get back up there, saw his October six-rounder against unbeaten Brett Flournoy called off after just two sessions when medics were called away from the contest to deal with the stricken Jason Rushton.
Despite this tale of woe, postman McIntyre, 27-6 (9), is looking to the future with renewed optimism. “Training’s been really good,” he said. “I’ve been quite lucky, the gym’s been quite busy over Christmas, so I’ve had stacks of sparring. I’ve also had time off from the post right through Christmas and ney year and they’ve let me have time off since then.”
McIntyre was first lined up to meet Thompson in 2007, a week before the first Anderson challenge. Their scheduled eliminator was shelved when the Scot got his title chance, but Kevin knows all about the exiting boxer-puncher.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching his fights,” he revealed. “He’s a fit, athletic guy but he takes a few shots too. He can be wide open and his shots can be a bit wide; he takes a lot too. He’s maybe not so well-rounded, he hasn’t got that amateur pedigree, doesn’t use his footwork, and he has a very straight front leg.
“I’m sure he thinks I’ll box him from the back foot. I don’t class myself as big-punching but I hit hard enough to trouble most guys. I’m quite confident from the front foot as well and I’ll be pushing him back too.”
While McIntyre refused to look too far beyond Thompson, he is possessed by a burning desire to avenge his abject capitulation against Brook, where he feels his effort fell way short of his normal high standard.
“That’s my main goal,” he said of a Brook return. “I obviously have a few regrets. I had bad preparation and in terms of losing weight. I feel so good now I’d love to fight him again.
“He may be an exceptional talent but I just think I could do better against him. I was stripped of my title, then I had a long layoff. I went on an All Inclusive holiday for two weeks, and maybe I felt a wee bit sorry for myself.
“But there’s not many places to go if it doesn’t go well on Friday, and that makes me more determined. Frank Maloney was looking to put me on a bill in February but he’s now letting me off the leash to see if I can win then we’ll sit down again. I look at the top 10 and think on my day I could beat any of them. Outside of Brook, who may be exceptional and John O’Donnell, who’s got a bit of speed but plenty of flaws too, I don’t think any of them have my number.
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From the late 2007-early 2008 high of back-to-back wins over Kevin Anderson, Mcintyre was then: stripped of the British title (unfairly in BN’s opinion) due to injury; forced to endure a near-nine-month layoff; hammered by new champion Kell Brook in a round in November 2008; and, in his chance to get back up there, saw his October six-rounder against unbeaten Brett Flournoy called off after just two sessions when medics were called away from the contest to deal with the stricken Jason Rushton.
Despite this tale of woe, postman McIntyre, 27-6 (9), is looking to the future with renewed optimism. “Training’s been really good,” he said. “I’ve been quite lucky, the gym’s been quite busy over Christmas, so I’ve had stacks of sparring. I’ve also had time off from the post right through Christmas and ney year and they’ve let me have time off since then.”
McIntyre was first lined up to meet Thompson in 2007, a week before the first Anderson challenge. Their scheduled eliminator was shelved when the Scot got his title chance, but Kevin knows all about the exiting boxer-puncher.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching his fights,” he revealed. “He’s a fit, athletic guy but he takes a few shots too. He can be wide open and his shots can be a bit wide; he takes a lot too. He’s maybe not so well-rounded, he hasn’t got that amateur pedigree, doesn’t use his footwork, and he has a very straight front leg.
“I’m sure he thinks I’ll box him from the back foot. I don’t class myself as big-punching but I hit hard enough to trouble most guys. I’m quite confident from the front foot as well and I’ll be pushing him back too.”
While McIntyre refused to look too far beyond Thompson, he is possessed by a burning desire to avenge his abject capitulation against Brook, where he feels his effort fell way short of his normal high standard.
“That’s my main goal,” he said of a Brook return. “I obviously have a few regrets. I had bad preparation and in terms of losing weight. I feel so good now I’d love to fight him again.
“He may be an exceptional talent but I just think I could do better against him. I was stripped of my title, then I had a long layoff. I went on an All Inclusive holiday for two weeks, and maybe I felt a wee bit sorry for myself.
“But there’s not many places to go if it doesn’t go well on Friday, and that makes me more determined. Frank Maloney was looking to put me on a bill in February but he’s now letting me off the leash to see if I can win then we’ll sit down again. I look at the top 10 and think on my day I could beat any of them. Outside of Brook, who may be exceptional and John O’Donnell, who’s got a bit of speed but plenty of flaws too, I don’t think any of them have my number.
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