It was the American writer Henry Miller who once said: “Every man has his own destiny, the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him”.
Against the odds, Tommy McCarthy is the current European cruiserweight champion and looking to become Ireland’s first ever black world champion. Yet by his own admission, the exciting Belfast star was almost lost to the sport years ago. Happily, though his career has come full circle. He always had the physical tools to succeed but now - crucially - he has the belief.
Tommy sat down with Furyjoshua.com to talk about his career so far, including the highs and lows, and what is still to come. He also had time to give his verdict on that planned superfight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua later this year.
He was born to a Jamaican mother and Irish father back in November 1990. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal for Ireland at the 2008 Youth World Championships. In those same championships, newly-crowned WBC super-featherweight champion Oscar Valdez and Russia’s WBA light-heavyweight boss Dmitry Bivol also claimed medals.
A Commonwealth Games silver in Delhi in 2010 followed, but an assault by a bouncer before the 2012 London Olympics (which caused him a serious neck injury) saw the Olympic dream unravel. True to form, McCarthy though persevered and turned over in 2014, making his pro debut in the unlikely setting of Dewsbury Leisure Centre.
A menacing jab and a fan-friendly approach to what is a brutal business saw his career gain momentum. However, he admits a 2016 fight with gnarled veteran Matty Askin came “too early for me” and the useful Askin handed him his first loss by claiming a unanimous decision over 12 rounds.
Tommy spent the next two years fighting against low-level opposition, but also making money and picking up crucial experience as a sparring partner.
Back from the brink
Dark times invade most careers at some stage, and McCarthy is honest enough to admit he was ready to walk away from the sport after losing to Richard Riakporhe in Peterborough in March 2019. It was a bitter pill, and took an intervention on the part of his family to stop him leaving a sport which has been his life.
“I thought I would have won (against Riakporhe) no problem, so to get stopped was embarrassing and I lost some faith in myself. My cousin came to the fight and immediately after the fight I told him I was done.
“He gave me a big speech about how this wasn’t the end, but a new beginning, and it really resonated. Then when I got home, I spoke with my wife and she reassured me that I would come back stronger.”
He rebounded with two wins over journeymen, but his career was in limbo until an unexpected call came from the handlers of WBC international cruiserweight champion Fabio Turchi to box in Italy.
“The Turchi win was a real make-or-break fight for me. Everything was against me in that fight. He was the undefeated champion, in his backyard and he was the headline. I was just brought in as an opponent. I knew I was going beat him.”
Turchi’s Matchroom handlers may have been banking on McCarthy’s best days being behind him, but Tommy made sacrifices ahead of that fight in terms of his training and prepared diligently. It was an entertaining scrap and with his top-level career in the balance, he knew he was fighting in the last-chance saloon.
“At the end of 12 rounds I felt I’d won eight rounds clearly and he got four so when they called ‘split decision’ I thought I was gonna get robbed. When I heard “And the new” it was big sense of relief. My confidence came back and I proved I can operate at world level.”
While one judge delivered a surprising scorecard (this is boxing after all) McCarthy was in all honesty a worthy winner and thankfully justice prevailed. That win rekindled a fire under the Belfast man and last October he produced another statement performance by winning the European title with a win over Bilal Laggoune on Sky Sports. Like most things in his life though, it wasn’t straightforward, and he had to show real cojones and roll the dice just by going through with the fight.
The pain barrier
“My preparations were going great up until three weeks to go then I broke my right hand. There was no way I was pulling out,” he explained.
“The opportunity was too big and if I didn’t take it, I might not have got it again.”
COVID-19 had decimated the sporting landscape in 2020 and McCarthy and his team knew even asking to postpone the fight for a couple of months while his hand healed could mean the opportunity would be lost forever.
Broken hand or not, the fight was on and took place on the PPV undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Dereck Chisora at Wembley Arena. After a bright start from the Belgian, McCarthy began to warm to the task - targeting his opponent’s head and body with crisp shots.
It was by no means a cakewalk, but at the conclusion two judges scored in his favour with tallies of 116-112 and 116-113, while the third had it a draw at 114-114.
That win not only secured the European title, but also boosted his rating into the top 10 of a few of the major sanctioning bodies. When asked which world champions are on his radar now, a clearly excited McCarthy doesn’t hold back.
“I always wanted to win the WBC title since I was a kid. I am number seven with now and I want the (Ilunga) Makubu fight. (Mairis) Briedis has the IBF title and is recognised as the best in the division. I know how to beat him so I would love that fight! But really, I want any one of the major belt holders!”
There are options out there for McCarthy, with fellow Matchroom cruiser Lawrence ‘The Sauce’ Okolie set to go in with Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO title later this month.
It’s the dream of every fighter starting out to become a world champion. However, McCarthy is chasing history and in position to be crowned as Ireland’s first black world champion. He concedes he was the only black child in his school and is fiercely proud of his roots and his family history on both sides.
When asked what becoming a world champion would mean to him in that context, McCarthy paused before admitting: “I would be the happiest and most proud man on the planet”.
Tommy meanwhile is better placed than most to comment on the booming heavyweight scene right now.
They say the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire, and Tommy Mac has honed his own skills in recent years by sparring world-rated heavyweights such as Hughie Fury and Carlos Takam.
Fury vs Joshua analysis
When pressed about how he thinks any proposed fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua plays out if they box as expected this year, McCarthy said “I think Fury wins. If he applies similar tactics as he did in the second (Deontay) Wilder fight, he could get the same result. He’s that good.”
However, he doesn’t feel WBA, IBF and WBO boss Joshua will be sold short in any negotiations as “Joshua is the A-side because he’s the unified champ”.
When examining the ring resumes of both men, McCarthy doesn’t feel there is a lot in it but said “Joshua has beaten better names and has a deeper record, but Fury’s wins against Wladimir Klitschko and then Wilder certainly have had more impact on boxing”.
The Irishman saw how Matchroom stablemate Josh Warrington came apart so spectacularly against the heavy-handed Mauricio Lara recently, having not boxed since October 2019.
Fury himself went straight on social media in the wake of that shock defeat and cryptically said ‘Tonight the fight world seen another victim of Inactivity in josh Warrington, COVID has destroyed a lot of careers. Can’t beat staying active”.
Will inactivity be a curse for Fury against Joshua then, with ‘The Gypsy King’ not having fought since the Wilder rematch last February?
“I dunno if it’s a risk, but let’s just say I don’t think it’s ideal,” admitted McCarthy.
Our destiny is sculpted in the silent moments. The decisions and sacrifices that people choose to make in order to achieve their goals and elevate their lives. However, as McCarthy will testify, destiny doesn’t do home visits. You have to go out and grab it.
He may never reach the dizzy heights of Floyd Mayweather or Canelo Alvarez when it comes to fame and fortune.
However, it is men like McCarthy, men of substance, who truly ennoble boxing.