Peter McGrail faces Marc Leach on Saturday, April 27 at Exhibition Centre Liverpool in Liverpool, England. Going through the ropes in front of his hometown crowd, the 27-year-old southpaw looks to return to winning ways.
In his previous outing last December, McGrail (8-1, 5 KOs) suffered his first career defeat, when he was stopped by Ja’Rico O’Quinn in the fifth round. Prior to being floored, the Liverpool native dropped his opponent twice and was leading 40-34 on all three judges’ scorecards.
The pair was scheduled to battle it out for the second time at the upcoming event, but O’Quinn withdrew from the rematch. Former British champion, Leach (18-3-1, 4 KOs) of Salford, England stepped in.
“It was just a learning curve for me weren’t it,” Peter McGrail said about his KO loss against O’Quinn. “It was a hard one to take. I was obviously in control of the fight. I had O’Quinn down twice. The fight was going to plan really weren’t it. I got caught with a good shot and he took my belt didn’t he. I switched off for a split second, that’s all a punch is.
“Straight away we said we wanted the rematch. I wanted to get my belt back and smash his head in properly this time. One way or another he’s pulled out of the fight, and I’ve got a new opponent. It’s a different opponent but I’ve got the same job to do. I’m coming to put a good performance in.
“I’m expecting a good tough fight. I’m more than ready for the likes of Marc Leach but let’s see April 27th. Every fight is must-win but coming off the back of a loss it’s probably even more of a must-win. You’re just going to see a spiteful and explosive Peter McGrail coming back to winning ways.”
The McGrail vs Leach bout is scheduled for 10 rounds at super bantamweight. The WBA International title is on the line.
In the co-feature to McGrail vs Leach, Beatriz Ferreira (4-0, 2 KOs) of Brazil and Yanina del Carmen Lescano (14-3, 4 KOs) of Argentina go head to head for the vacant IBF lightweight title. Among other bouts, British Pat McCormack (5-0, 4 KOs) and Williams Andres Herrera (16-3, 7 KOs) of Argentina square off for the vacant WBA Intercontinental welterweight belt. Plus, Junaid Bostan (8-0, 6 KOs) and Jack Martin (9-1, 4 KOs) meet in the all-British contest at super welterweight.