Danny McIntosh makes no bones about it. When he takes on British light heavyweight champion Tony Bellew on April 14th at the Echo Arena in Liverpool it’s a case of all or nothing for him.
Speaking exclusively to coldwellboxing.com, the 31-year old may be coming into this showdown on the back of a defeat. But in losing his European crown to Edward Gutknecht in May of last year, ’Big Mac’ was keen to explain the reasons that contributed to his defeat.
"Before I fought Gutknecht I was up and down to Sheffield for a while because a mate of mine had died. I was also half a stone overweight which is unacceptable... I should have pulled out."
The fight against Bellews presents the perfect opportunity for the 13-2 (7) fighter to get back, to not only domestic level but perhaps getting him closer to another crack at WBO champion Nathan Cleverly, who McIntosh lost to back in 2009.
"I’m looking at Tony as a stepping stone. He’s looking for a rematch with Cleverly but so am I," he explained.
McIntosh predicts to a "torrid battle" against Bellew but the Norfolk native is not prepared to leave the result in the hands of the judges. "Listen, he’s gonna get stopped," insisted McIntosh. "He throws more punches than me but whether or not he connects is another thing. Bellew brings a hell of a lot of power, he also fought Cleverly and nearly beat him but I can’t say he’s got a lot more experience. He brings a lot of will and as I said, a lot of power, but he’s getting stopped."
When speaking to McIntosh it was detectable in his voice and attitude that he’s not willing to go backwards in his career should he not emerge victorious on April 14th. Despite only having had 15 fights in a seven year professional career he’s treating this as his last chance saloon.
"This is for the British title. Everything’s going into this fight. I’m not gonna get many more chances because no-one’s gonna want to fight a guy like me that can punch the way I do."
And as he recalled his greatest victory to date, when beating Thierry Karl in France at the beginning of last year, McIntosh said that he’ll be bringing every positive from that night into his clash with Bellew.
"I thought in my head I wasn’t going to win the fight. I had the flu during training camp so I thought it was going to be a good pay day and nothing else.
Two days before the fight I stopped sweating, feeling ill and I knew then I could win the fight. And as soon as I got to the weigh-in I got to him psychologically and I knew I had him. I can use all of that in this fight. I know how to overcome the odds."
February 21, 2012
