Confident McGrail eyes Commonwealth Games gold
BySportsbeat
Published 06/03/2018 at 12:02 GMT
Peter McGrail insists he is coming into form at just the right time ahead of the Commonwealth Games after he finished off a thumping 5-0 win for the British Lionhearts against Italia Thunder.
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The bantamweight was too good for Jahyn Parrinello in the final bout of the night, following wins for Galal Yafai, Luke McCormack, Ben Whittaker and overseas selection Radoslav Pantaleev in the World Series of Boxing match-up.
The win in Liverpool – McGrail's home city – was the second whitewash for the Lionhearts in two weeks following their 5-0 victory against the Croatian Knights in Gateshead.
And Liverpool's McGrail now has his eyes fixed on the Gold Coast, with the Games less than a month away.
"I thought I boxed well. He was a tricky opponent, very experienced, but I thought I landed a few good shots and did not really get hit that much," he said.
"A win is a win and I am happy to get that under my belt going into the Commonwealth Games which is coming up soon.
"It ranks right up there as one of the best experiences of my career. When I came out there were people all shouting for me. Every time I landed a shot there was a cheer, so it was brilliant."
It capped off a superb night for the Lionhearts, who got off to a fine start thanks to a win for light-flyweight Yafai against Federico Serra.
Light-welterweight McCormack followed although his win against Paulo Di Lernia was far from routine due to a nasty cut above his left eye.
But perhaps the best performance was from WSB debutante Whittaker, who earned a fourth-round stoppage against Giuseppe Perugino.
"As soon as I came out I dominated the centre to let him know he is not going to push me back. Once I got him on the backfoot, I knew I had it," Whittaker said.
"He was trying to lure me in and do little things to get me to reach in but I kept to my own style and in the end I think it was me frustrating him because he couldn't hit me.
"I loved the WSB experience. You get lots of build-up, your own ring walk music and your family get to see you. There is a bit more show to it than our usual international boxing so I really enjoyed it."
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