It will seem a natural progression should Lee McGregor become a boxing world champion just a month after Josh Taylor relinquished the last of his own global belts.
McGregor has found himself in Taylor’s slipstream since the start of his professional career six years ago, competing on his friend’s undercards and joining him on training camps.
Now this could be McGregor’s time to shine. Should he defeat Erik Robles at Meadowbank this evening in a world super bantamweight title fight, the man known as Lightning will reach the goal widely expected of him two years ago when he added the European strap to his British and Commonwealth belts on a seemingly turbo-charged rise to the top.
Injuries, postponements and other factors have since derailed his process and there were times when McGregor considered packing it all in.
A new promotional deal with Wasserman that will see his fights take place in his native Edinburgh and broadcast live on Channel 5 has given him renewed hope. Admittedly, the IBO belt that is on the line this evening is not considered one of the four mainstream world titles (IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC) but for McGregor it will be a vindication of that determination to plough on through years of doubt and adversity.
“Ten weeks ago I was thinking I couldn’t do this any longer. And now here we are,” he said. “I feel I’m too talented and too tough to give up. But it definitely did come into conversations with my family. They said, ‘you can’t keep doing this to yourself. You just can’t afford it for a start’. A lot of people distanced themselves but I’ll never forget the ones who stayed with me like my sponsors and people close to me. I’ll repay them when we get back to where I should be.
“I’m fearless, I’ve shown it my whole career and that’s why I’ve achieved so much so early in my career. I’m going to continue to do that and start this new chapter. This fight is life-changing for me and I’m not letting this opportunity slip. It’s been my dream since I was a young boy. So to finally come back to do it in Edinburgh, in my old amateur gym, having not fought in the city since my professional debut in 2017. is incredible.
“I feel like because I’ve been so inactive I’ve been half-forgotten about. That changes tonight. I’m a star again once I win. It’s on Channel 5 and the viewing figures are going to be huge. Scotland’s buzzing, Edinburgh’s buzzing. It’s time to get back to where it was. It’s going to be a fun, noisy night. We know what we’re going to get with Scottish crowds, especially with my fans.”
McGregor has spoken about how emotional he may become this evening, especially should the outcome prove favourable. And while the 26 year-old insists he will not let that cloud his judgment during the contest, trainer Ben Davison does not want his man to be powered by adrenaline.
“The emotional thing is a big one for me,” Davison said. “With it being in Edinburgh I don’t want him to get carried away and start loading up and getting into silly exchanges. I want him to be smart. If he does that I think it will be a dominating performance. But I’ve told him if he does daft things when he gets emotional then this fight goes up in the air. They’re both good punchers so you don’t want to take silly risks. He knows what he needs to do.”
Robles is no mug, a tough Mexican with just one defeat in 14 pro fights, and McGregor will give him the respect he deserves.
He added: “He’s tough, strong, and will fire away and punch hard. He’s going to fight his heart out. This is the biggest fight of his life, his golden ticket. We’ve seen it time and time again in the past when Mexicans come over and try to spoil the party. So I need to be switched on. The more the fight goes on I know it’s going to favour me. I’m a championship fighter.”
Davison believes there is potential for McGregor to step up to featherweight or super-featherweight but believes tonight’s contest will be pivotal in shaping the rest of the fighter’s career.
“It’s a fresh start for Lee. He had a big period of inactivity when he had a lot going on outside of boxing. But he’s been consistently in the gym, had his comeback fight in Newcastle that stood him in good stead and now this new deal with Wasserman. It’s a big opportunity for him this fight, live on channel 5. Activity is the biggest thing for Lee at the minute and then we’ll see what the bigger picture brings down the line.”
