The Underdog: Padraig McCrory says, “I know I have the power to hurt (Edgar)

BN: What is your opinion of Edgar Berlanda?

PM: I think he’s very good. He obviously beat Jason Quigley who I thought gave him a few problems. Quigley was a great amateur and is a good boxer so to be able to do that to Quigley shows that he’s good. I think Berlanga’s a good fighter. He seems to have slowed down a bit because in his first 16 fights he had first-round knockouts. I think that’s affected him negatively because he’s not knocking people out now. He’s a good fighter, he’s strong, he’s aggressive and I’m under no illusion of what I’m up against.

BN: Both your styles could gel and create something of a shootout but is there any thought to doing anything different and surprise him?

PM: The fight’s getting hyped as a shootout but if you look at the [Steed] Woodall fight, I boxed and the fight in Germany [against Leon Bunn] there was times when I boxed. I can adapt. We know that there’s going to be stages in this one where we’re going to have to stand and fight. I think it’s shown that if you try and run for 12 rounds against Berlanga, with the pace he sets, it can go wrong. We know I’ll have to bite down on the gumshield at some point in the fight.

BN: Is the Berlanga fight coming at the right time for you?

PM: People look at my career and those that don’t know me will look at my age. I’m 35 but I’ve got very low mileage on the clock. In my 18 fights there hasn’t been any out and out wars. I haven’t been up and down off the canvas; I haven’t been getting hurt. I’m 35 but I don’t have much damage. I’m a firm believer that fights like the Bunn fight coming about last minute have come at the right time. Earlier in my career like I accepted a fight with David Lemieux, but it fell through. That’s a fight I probably wasn’t ready for at the time. I believe the timing of this fight is right. The world works in mysterious ways, and I feel like it’s the right time for me.

BN: You made your pro debut when you were 28. Why did you turn over so late?

PM: I barely boxed between 20 and 25. I took a long break. Towards 2014 I thought I’m going to give boxing a go and try and qualify for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. I won the qualifiers, but the politics of boxing didn’t allow me to go. The fighter I beat in the final (Sean McGlinchy) did go and he won a bronze medal. I had to decide do I stay in the amateurs and do another four-year or do I give the pros a go. At that stage Kieran Farrell had just started signing a few fighters from Belfast and I thought this is the opportunity. I reached out to my current coach Dee Walsh and Kieran and the show went on the road. Then I got married which slightly delayed my debut, but it fell perfectly because I got a debut at the SSE [in Belfast] on a Matchroom card. Things have fell perfectly throughout my career and things have happened for the right reasons.

BN: What prompted you to take the break?

PM: I started boxing when I was 14 but…