Joe McGrail believes he entered new territory after coming through the 'toughest fight' of his professional career on Saturday night.
McGrail defeated Alexander Taylor 59-55, with brother Peter watching on from ringside before he beat Alexander Espinoza via TKO at Probellum Liverpool II. However, the result only tells half the story as the 19-year-old sustained a cut by the side of his left eye and hurt his hand during the early rounds of the fight.
But despite the setbacks, McGrail believes he ticked a number of boxes coming through the bout and will benefit from the experience in the long run.
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“It was the toughest fight I’ve had so far as a pro. I had to come through a couple of injuries, my eye and my hand, I got elbowed in the second,” he told the ECHO.
“My eye opened up and then I came back at the end of the third with a saw hand. So a couple of problems that I think I dealt with well.
“There are positives to take [from the fight]. It is ticking boxes and I dealt with it well and I have never been in a fight where I have had to fight with one hand.”
McGrail had hoped to get one more outing before the calendar year was out, but admits his injuries may mean he is forced to wait until next year before returning to the ring.
He said: “That was the plan [to get one more time before Christmas] but I will have to just wait and see how my injuries heal. But hopefully they heal fast and I can get out before Christmas, but if not, early next year, definitely.”
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