Molly McCann: “I would love a British, Commonwealth, or European title before the end of the year.”

Molly McCann: “I would love a British, Commonwealth, or European title before the end of the year.”

Molly McCann gets a precious hometown gig this Saturday in Liverpool. McCann gets the chief-support slot to Ben Whittaker when she takes on Ashleigh Johnson this weekend, hoping to extend her winning start to her professional boxing career.

McCann hasn’t fought in Liverpool since her Mixed Martial Arts days, and the former UFC-ranked flyweight will look to enhance her credentials in boxing in her fourth fight in the paid ranks.

The former national amateur champion has made a solid start since she switched back to boxing last year. Three fights. Three wins. McCann can be satisfied with her new beginning.

McCann impressed on her debut in Ireland last year against the tough Kate Radomska. I have seen enough fighters struggle with Radomska. But McCann didn’t. A 6th-round stoppage victory got her new career going on a positive note. But next time out against Ebonie Cotton, McCann had a few more problems to overcome, and not just inside the ring.

“The first fight, I was just taking it in,” McCann told me. “I was happy and relaxed. The second fight I had actually been in a car crash, and my back had locked out. For four weeks, I could only train an hour a day; that’s all my back could take.”

McCann won again despite her ongoing back issues. A six-round points victory, and another similar result followed in February against Beata Dudek in Nottingham. McCann steps up to eight rounds on Saturday night against Johnson. The extra duration allows McCann additional time to show a little more of her skills. “I want to add a little patience,” McCann says. “In front of my home crowd, my opponent is probably banking on me coming out like a bull in a china shop. The important thing for me is to stick to what I need to do to win.”

Fighting in her home city carries extra meaning for Molly McCann. “It’s been eight years since I last fought in Liverpool. I have got a couple of tattoos of the city. I try to personify Liverpool in the best way that I can. I am definitely feeling the drive and the fire to make sure that I am proud after those eight rounds. I get to look out into the crowd. I get to have that moment again. When I fight in Liverpool, it’s like I am a daughter of that city. They have backed me for the last fifteen years. These moments are special, and they are humbling. It’s massive to know that a female is championed in this city. Liverpool is known for backing their own. And they have.”

McCann never quite reached the pinnacle in the UFC, but the ambitious Liverpool fighter hopes her future in boxing will include world titles. But there are aspirations on the domestic front, before targeting those global titles.

“It was Eddie who said that in around eight fights, I will become a world champion,” McCann relayed to me. ‘But it will take as long as it’s going to take. I am fighting near enough every eight weeks, so it’s about managing the body at this age. Making sure I get to the fights is the most important thing. But we have really found our groove with that. This is my first eight-rounder, and obviously, I would love another in Dublin on the Katie Taylor card. I would love a British, Commonwealth, or European title before the end of the year. I have always had an affinity with that British title; it means so much. Something with that lineage means more than the money. So if I can get a British title before the end of this year, I would be over the moon.”

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing