Pat McCormack makes a huge step towards a world title this Saturday night at Rainton Meadows Arena in Sunderland, and the man from the North East takes on Miguel Parra in an eliminator for the WBA welterweight title over a scheduled ten rounds.
Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promote McCormack vs Parra and DAZN televise live worldwide.
2020 Olympic Silver medallist, McCormack (7-0, 5 KOs) has been at 10-round level in his last three outings, forcing Tony Dixon to retire after four rounds of battle in July 2023 in his first foray into the distance.
The 30-year-old then won all 10 rounds against Williams Andres Herrera in October last year, and then had Robbie Davies Jr down three times before, before forcing a retirement after six frames.
McCormack now faces Mexico’s Parra (25-5-1, 17 KOs), a 32-year-old in good form since losing a tight split decision to Shakhram Giyasov in July last year.
‘Maquina’ has won twice since in his homeland, before travelling to Spain to force Nestor Gonzalez to retire after three rounds in his last assignment in July.
Prediction: McCormack has been impressive as a professional to date, and Parra will come to fight, which should suit the home fighter. McCormack can move closer to a shot at Rolando Romero with a wide win on points.
Dickinson battles Williamson
The undercard features a fantastic-looking trade fight, as Mark Dickinson defends his English super middleweight title against Troy Williamson in a North East derby.
Dickinson (8-1, 2 KOs) lost on the cards to Kazuto Takesako in Japan last July, but rebounded to win the English title in March, taking a clear points win against the previously unbeaten Reece Farnhill in Altrincham.
Since dropping the British title at super welterweight widely on points to Josh Kelly in December 2022, Darlington’s Williamson (20-4-1, 14 KOs) has lost another three times, winning only once in a six-rounder in the process.
The 34-year-old’s last defeat was a wide one, as he was decked twice before going down heavily on the scorecards to Jahi Tucker in Las Vegas in April.
Prediction: Williamson has shown signs of slowing down of late, and Dickinson can exploit this to take a points win to retain his belt.
Remaining Undercard
Former world champion Sandy Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs) makes a return to action after back-to-back defeats to Mikaela Mayer, and she should bounce back with a clear points win over 10 rounds against Jade Grierson (5-0-1, 2 KOs).
In a six-rounder at bantamweight, Tiah Mai Ayton (1-0, 1 KO) should be a dominant points winner against Lydie Bialic (3-3-1, 1 KO).
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In four rounders, heavyweight prospect Leo Atang (1-0, 1 KO) should win early against Cristian Uwaka (1-5-1, 1 KO) and cruiserweight debutant Bradley Casey can win by the same method against Goran Kozul (5-7, 2 KOs).
Lightweight prospect, Cameron Vuong (8-0, 4 KOs) and bantamweight prospect, Adam Maca (1-0, 1 KO) also feature against opponents to be confirmed.
