‘We will be able to swim in the blood after the fight’

BRIGHTON – Tyrone McKenna today promised to put the unbeaten Harlem Eubank under the kind of pressure he’s never felt before when they clash on March 7 inside the Brighton Centre in Eubank’s home city of Brighton and Hove,

McKenna is 34 years old now and though his 24-5-1 (7 KOs) record is far from spotless it can boast names like Regis Prograis, Jack Catterall and Lewis Crocker upon it. The Irishman insists that 30-year-old Eubank, 20-0 (8 KOs), might be unbeaten but he’s also untested.

“I’m only going for wars, it’s all I want,” McKenna, wearing a cap and an unkempt beard, said at the seafront Mecure Hotel. “I want to just stand toe-to-toe, break fighter’s hearts. And that’s what I plan to do here; Harlem is stepping up too high, he’s been guided and protected. I’m going to go in there and absolutely beat him up. We will be able to swim in the blood after the fight… He’s going to find out why I’m the hardest man in Ireland.”

Eubank’s career has struggled for momentum in recent months after a proposed contest with Adam Azim failed to materialize, even after they were invited to go nose-to-nose and announce a fight between the two last year. Regardless, the Brighton welterweight is confident he’ll be too good for McKenna.

“He’s picking on the wrong guy,” Eubank said. “I’m here to put an end to those mistruths that he’s got swimming around in his head… It’s going to be beautiful. This is what I’ve been waiting for, someone who thinks they’re going to bring a war and a fight to me. If that is the case, the fans are in for a treat and Tyrone is in for a painful night.”

Promoter Kalle Sauerland, of Wasserman who stage the 11-fight bill, promised that the winner of Eubank-McKenna will be rewarded with a place in the IBF top 10 after securing a vacant international strap as the prize on the night. “This is throwback fight and a banger of a main event,” he said.