OUT of pocket and out of luck, Feargal McCrory was bitterly disappointed to miss out on making his US debut on the undercard of Conlan-Preciado at boxing Mecca Madison Square Garden on St Patrick’s Day.
The former Brackaville GAC star expected to be roared to victory over opponent Juan Tapia by a sizeable travelling support from his native Tyrone so the cancellation of the Garden bill was a hammer blow.
“It’s a big disappointment but it’s obviously something that had to be done for the safety of everybody and worse things happen, we just have to deal with it,” said the unbeaten featherweight.
“It’s hard to pin-point when I can fight again because of this Coronavirus so it’s all a wee bit up in the air at the minute as it is for everyone.
“So I’m not going to dwell on it. There’s a lot of people worse off and my family is at home and they’re all safe and that’s the main thing.
“I’ve learned so much, I’ve picked up so much and I might as well have had the fight. I was honestly going to put on a massive performance.
“I was performing so well in the gym in sparring against world-class operators and giving them all they wanted. I believe this was my time but it has been put on hold.”
McCrory, who is now licensed by the New York State Athletic Commission, hopes to fight for a North American world ranking title next and intends to get back to training after a short break.
“I have a plan in place and a direction and a route that I want to go down,” he said.
“With this fight not happening it has hampered us to the extent of not getting paid and not getting to perform but I intend to move on to the next hurdle now.
“I’ll be looking for a 10-round title out here and then push on from there. I’ll come again, this is only the start.”
