Marc Leach explains why he took fight vs. Peter McGrail on short notice

Marc Leach wasn't originally supposed to be taking on Peter McGrail this weekend, but he's glad to do so.

The 30-year-old stepped in to replace Ja'Rico O'Quinn in the headline bout of Saturday's NXTGEN card in Liverpool, and he says the decision was an easy one to make.

"I don't turn down no fights. I'm in the sport to be the best," Leach said at a press conference on Thursday. "Peter McGrail is a lot better than my original opponent that I was set to face, so for me it was a no brainer. We said yes straight away.

"I've lost my last two and he lost his last fight. We're both coming off the back of a loss and we've got a lot to prove."

Leach was last in action in October 2023, when he retired in the seventh round of his fight against Masood Abdulah. That loss came on the heels of a unanimous decision defeat to Liam Davies in 2022 that saw Leach lose his British super bantamweight title.

Like his upcoming opponent, Leach isn't allowing the defeats to slow him down.

"A loss doesn't define a person - I've learnt from my losses and I've come back stronger," he said. "Hopefully when I win on Saturday it puts me back in the mix for the rest of the titles. It gets my name back in the mix for the top class fights. That's what I'm in the sport for. I want to keep on proving myself and keep on showing what I'm about."

Leach also sent a warning to McGrail ahead of their bout, advising his opponent to stay focused or potentially add another loss to his own record.

"I’ve just seen his last fight [against O'Quinn]," Leach said. "For me he was comfortably winning that fight and switched off for a split second and got caught with that one punch. Sometimes that’s all it takes in boxing. 

"He’s not going to be able to switch off against me. I’m going to be more elusive, throwing shots at him everywhere so he’s going to have to be switched on. I’m looking forward to a tough ten hard rounds."

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