Inverness boxer Gary Cornish faces further wait before making ring comeback
GARY Cornish’s return to the ring is on hold after last-minute talks for a headline title fight fell through.
Negotiations broke down late last week and now Cornish will take a short break from boxing to get married over the summer.
The Highlander was due to fight Sam Sexton for the British heavyweight on May 20, but the Englishman pulled out a week before the contest, citing a back injury.
He was then scheduled to box on MTK Scotland’s Capital Showdown bill in Edinburgh this Saturday. However, with the late drama about a potential big-name fight in England, which did not come to fruition, manager Sam Kynoch believed it was best to give Cornish some time off.
“We had a potential fight offer and had to see how that played out,” said Kynoch. “We got an answer and we weren’t able to go for it. I can’t say who it would have been against but it was a big opportunity down south.
“I had a chat to Gary on Friday and he was feeling a bit sore, having been in the gym for a long time. He probably needs a bit of a break.
“He was struggling to motivate himself to do a six-rounder and after the Sam Sexton fight fell through, refocusing for June 3 was going to be a big ask.”
Cornish will now instead focus on his wedding in the summer and his stag do in a fortnight’s time, allowing him to take a break from boxing.
The hope is that the Sexton fight can be rescheduled for the autumn, providing both boxers are injury-free.
The upside is that it will give Cornish more time to work with coach Billy Nelson, who he started training with at the beginning of this year.
“I speak to Billy regularly and he’s in day in, day out with Gary,” said Kynoch. “He’s definitely showing signs of progress.
“He’s done a full training camp for this fight and in some ways, the postponement works out because it gives him more time to work with Billy.”
Cornish’s stable-mate Tommy Philbin will headline the Edinburgh show at Meadowbank Sports Centre this weekend.
The 30-year-old sparred with fellow MTK fighters Jay McFarlane and Stephen Simmonds at Nelson’s gym in Glasgow, in preparation for the Sexton bout. He had also travelled to Manchester to spar with Hughie Fury.
The only fight this year for the Merkinch heavyweight was a points victory over Kamil Sokolowski in February, his first under the MTK Scotland banner. The Pole was a last-minute replacement for Georgian Revaz Karelishvili.
For Cornish, who is living and training in Glasgow during the week and returning to Inverness on weekends, it will be a case of him ticking over until the next fight, whenever that may be, is confirmed.
“There’s been a few things happening under the radar and I was offered a couple of big bouts,” he said. “They never came to anything, which is a bit disappointing.
“We’ve stayed in camp and I’ve still been in the gym non-stop. But your body does need a rest.
“I was feeling quite good but not having anything to aim for, with the fight being called off, means I just need to keep ticking over until we get something sorted.”
Promoter Paul Graham and his Prospect Boxing company retain the rights to host the British title fight, which he hopes to put on in September or October.
When Sexton withdrew eight days before the scheduled bout, it left Graham short of a main event and resulted in him pulling the entire show.
Depending on timings Cornish may return to the ring for a warm-up bout before facing Sexton.
