What Peter McGrail will say to Eddie Hearn when he beats Shabaz Masoud as world title plan emerges
Peter McGrail and Shabaz Masoud top a blockbuster bill in Monte Carlo tonight as they meet for the EBU European super-bantamweight championship
Eddie Hearn and Peter McGrail(Image: (Mark Robinson/Getty Images))
Peter McGrail believes he could move to within one fight of securing a world title shot with a win over Shabaz Masoud tonight. McGrail and Masoud top the blockbuster bill in Monte Carlo as they collide in the main event for the EBU European super-bantamweight title.
The pair were due to meet earlier this year, but the fight was postponed after Masoud picked up an injury in training. A product of the famous Everton Red Triangle gym, the 29-year-old is the current WBA International super-bantamweight title holder.
McGrail was one of the standout amateurs of his generation, and he believes a victory at Salle des Etoiles will take him to within touching distance of a world title shot.
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“It could be one fight or it could be two fights, it just depends on how it is going with Naoya Inoue, but I’ll be honest, I am not looking that far,” he told the ECHO.
“All I do is take it day by day and I have been getting myself in the shape I can be, and I don’t see the fight going any other way than a McGrail win.”
“Once I have got this belt around my waist, I am just going to look at Eddie Hearn and say, ‘When are you getting me this world title shot?’
“If I can’t get a world title shot, then I want the biggest fight as soon as possible. I want to get straight back out there.”
And while McGrail believes that Masoud is a good fighter, he claims he won’t bring anything to the table that he hasn’t faced before.
Peter McGrail and his team after his win over Inout Ballot(Image: (Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing))
He said: “It’s a big one. It’s the biggest fight of my life to date and it’s going to be a great fight. 100%. I’ve been working so hard at this camp.
“I’m up against a very, very good fighter. I’m in the shape of my life and you’ll all see that on Saturday night. He’s a very good fighter, but I believe I’m a great fighter.
“I haven’t watched too much of him over the years. I know he’s been about for years, the same as me, all through the amateurs, and he’s boxed for years, like myself. He’s a very good fighter, but I believe I’m a great fighter.”
But while the eyes of the boxing world will be on Monte Carlo, the Greenbank Sports Academy plays host to a big night of domestic action tonight. In an all-Scouse affair, James Francis takes on Brian Phillips for the vacant super-featherweight Central Area title.
Phillips might have lost his last three fights, but he believes: “I’ve had a couple of 10-round fights and a couple of local derbies, but come Saturday night it is my time. I can’t wait.
Brian Phillips
“I’m the away fighter, and I am in that corner, but once you get in the ring, everyone is coming out to watch, and this is my Christmas before Christmas.
“Fair play to James, he is stepping up and having real fights. He’s stepped up before real fights, and he’s doing it again.”
Francis, on the other hand, returned to winning ways against Liam Fitzmaurice last time out after being beaten by Lasha Guruli on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Daniel Dubois at Wembley.
“I am the younger and hungrier fighter and I’m coming to take the belt on Saturday night,” Francis said.
“I’ve had pressure all my life and I am going in there 100% confident. We put the fight to him and if we didn’t think it was the right time, we wouldn’t be doing it.
“We put the fight to them and we are 100% confident. It is going to be a nice Christmas for me.”
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