Michael Gomez Jnr vs Lee McGregor

Michael Gomez Jnr against Lee McGregor has proper tear-up written all over it. It is tucked on the Doncaster card at lightweight, scheduled over ten rounds, and it is the sort of fight where neither man can afford to coast. Gomez Jnr comes in at 22-2, McGregor at 16-2-1, and both have enough spite in their work to make this more than just a neat boxing match.

Gomez Jnr is the more natural lightweight now. He has filled into the weight, he is strong at 135, and when he gets rolling, he can make a man feel like he is fighting in a phone booth. McGregor has been a very good operator, a former British, Commonwealth and European champion at bantamweight, but the question is whether that old sharpness and spite travels properly up the weights. He can punch, no doubt, with 11 stoppages from 16 wins, but lightweight is a different neighbourhood.

The nuts and bolts are simple. Gomez Jnr needs to make it physical, jab his way in, tuck up, work the ribs, and keep McGregor backing up. His weakness is that he can get drawn into scraps and leave gaps when he is trying to be his dad’s son instead of just being himself. McGregor’s advantage is timing. If he can catch Gomez walking in, especially with the right hand or short left hook as Gomez squares up, he can make it awkward. But if McGregor gets pinned, bullied, and made to work at Gomez’s pace, the legs will start telling before the chin does.

My pick is Gomez Jnr. I think McGregor has a sharp start and wins early moments with cleaner single shots, but Gomez’s size, pressure and body work start dragging him into deep water. By the second half, Gomez will be landing heavier, rougher shots, the kind that do not look pretty but take the engine out of a man. Gomez Jnr to win by stoppage.