Peter McGrail seeks to right the wrongs incurred at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he returns to 'The Land of the Rising Sun' this week.
Touted as one of Team GB boxing’s strongest podium hopefuls, the European and Commonwealth gold medallist unexpectedly faltered in the preliminary stages to Thailand’s Chatchai-Decha Butdee.
Now, after the euphoria of headlining his first bill at The Olympia back in October, the man once dubbed the 'Scouse Lomachenko' ventures back to Japan, intent on showcasing his skills on the undercard of Naoya Inoue and Paul Butler’s undisputed bantamweight showdown at the capital’s 15,000-capacity Ariake Arena.
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And McGrail is hellbent on absolving himself from the heartache of underperforming in his last trip to the Far East.
“It was hard, you know; I was gutted and shocked”, said tournament favourite McGrail. “I was on the podium at every major tournament prior to the Olympics, I fully believed I was gonna beat that kid (Butdee). On the day, it’s like it wasn’t even me in the ring.
“It was heart-breaking. I believed I was good enough to get a medal. I couldn’t stop crying. That (disappointment) will always be there. I’ll never get over it.
“I’m not gonna put him down, he’s a very good fighter, very experienced, but I know I’m better than him, I’d sparred him before. Obviously, fighting (competitively) is different but it’s just one of them things. I rushed the fight, I might have been a bit over-eager.
“So I’m 0-1 over there! I’m one nil down! I need to get a win and even it out.”
Ever the optimist, McGrail used his Olympic woes to fuel an insatiable hunger to prosper once he transferred to the professional ranks.
After years of making the long drive from Liverpool to Team GB boxing’s headquarters in Sheffield, the move to paid pugilism permitted better harmonization both with the family and childhood coach, Paul Stevenson.
“A very good positive that came from it was that I got my debut when 'Beefy' (Liam Smith) boxed (Anthony) Fowler at the Echo”, continued the 26-year-old.
“Obviously, I would’ve preferred to have gone and got that Olympic medal but you’ve gotta try and see the positives in every situation.
“Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing promoter) gave me a good slot on there, the arena was full. I haven’t had anything like that since.
“Getting something like that on my debut, I’ll have already have experienced those sorts of crowds, when it finally comes to title fights.
“I believe everything happens for a reason, it weren’t meant to be; I wasn’t meant to get that Olympic medal.”
Since his October 2021 pro debut, the 5’6” southpaw has wasted no time making his mark on the super bantamweight division - chalking up five wins and four KO finishes.
In what will be his fourth contest of 2022, the 13th December spat with native Hironori Miyake (9-12-2, 1 KO) offers an optimal opportunity to fully exhibit his attractive counterpunching style to an untapped market.
Unfazed by both the opposition and the challenge of returning to Tokyo, McGrail maintains his formidable amateur pedigree has battle-hardened him from any international jitters.
“There’s two aspects of it, isn’t there?”, McGrail affirmed. “Some might wanna go out and flatten the kid in the first round.
“Obviously, there’s loads of positives in that, everyone would be talking about you but I’m in Japan, aren’t I?
“It’d be good to just get a few rounds in, show my skills off and show them what I’m about. Using all your ability is another way of getting everyone to talk about you.
“I’d imagine I’m not gonna get the best of slots, but I’m not really fussed. I just wanna experience fighting on the big stage, even if that stage is in Japan. It’s all valuable experience. It’s just another fight, another stepping stone for where I wanna get.”
For McGrail, however, the card’s main event could foreshadow future competition.
Should Inoue, 29, triumph over Ellesmere Port’s Paul Butler and unify the bantamweight division, the pound-for-pound #2 is expected to gate-crash McGrail’s 122lb super bantam habitat. Should McGrail’s career continue to blossom at its present rate, might a future collision with ‘The Monster’ Inoue materialise down the line?
“We knew it was gonna be a massive show! He’s like the ‘Canelo’ (Alvarez) of Asia, isn’t he?” quipped McGrail.
“You never know, Inoue is probably gonna come up to super bantam. Obviously, he’ll go straight to world level but, by the time I get there, he might still be hanging about.”
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