Sam Sexton will be next for Gary Cornish if March fight does not go ahead
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GARY Cornish is uncertain as to whether he will have another fight prior to his British title bout with Sam Sexton.
Provided he gets high-quality sparring in, he does not feel that he desperately needs another tune-up bout before the meeting with the former Commonwealth champion.
On his debut for new management team MTK Scotland, Cornish recorded a gritty points victory over Polish fighter Kamil Sokolowski.
The British title fight is not scheduled until June and purse bids, which are due in the first week in March, will determine his next.
“Whether I fight next month depends on the purse bids (for the British title). I’ll speak to Sam Kynoch (manager) and Billy (Nelson, coach) and take it from there,” said Cornish.
“You’re going to get a bit rusty, having been out of the ring for six months, but we’re bringing in sparring partners every week. Billy is telling me I’m going to get hurt and that’s what I want. I don’t want to just go in and take guy’s heads off. I want to be prepared for the big fights.
“As long as I get lots of sparring, 12 rounds in, then I’ll be ready for Sexton.”
Cornish’s initial opponent, Georgian Revaz Karelishvili, was denied a visa to entry the UK, which prompted the Highlander’s MTK manager Sam Kynoch into a late reshuffle.
“There will be some underlying issue in his personal circumstances,” said Kynoch. “It was very difficult to get an opponent because of Gary’s ranking.
“He’s number 51 in the world, so not many people want to touch him. So scouring Europe, it was hard to come up with someone.
He added that the plan is for Cornish to box again in Glasgow at the end of next month, although that will be decided for certain in the coming weeks.
“We’ve got him out on March and we’d like to get him out then. The purse bids (for the British title) come in at the start of the month and we’ll have a much clearer idea then,” said Kynoch.
“He needs another fight to iron some things out and the 24th March gives him time to sort it.”
The Merkinch heavyweight, who improves his record to 24-1 with the win, knows there is more to come but was happy with his outing.
“There was a lot of pressure on me. Signing with a new team, a new coach, going full-time and with the British title in the back of my mind, it’s good to get a win with that pressure,” he said.
