Liverpool boxer relishing chance to fight on Joshua-Ngannou undercard as he prepares for world title eliminator

Liverpool’s Jack McGann says he “wasn’t surprised” to be asked to fight on another major card in Saudi Arabia as he prepares to face Louis Greene in a WBC Silver title eliminator on the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard this evening.

The 30-year-old light-middleweight delivered a stunning second-round knockout of Roberto Duran Jr. on the Tyson Fury vs Ngannou bill in Riyadh last October, and will now return looking to continue his momentum.

McGann, who has won five consecutive fights inside the distance, is in the unique position of already knowing his next opponent due to his status as the mandatory challenger for the British title, with his next bout slated for the vacant belt against London’s Sam Gilley in July.

‘The Pilgrim’ has been in line to fight for British honours since 2023, but after former champion Samuel Antwi vacated the belt he was forced to delay, prompting him to accept a fight against Greene in the interim.

“It’s the power of the knockout,” said McGann, whose bout will get under way around 5pm. “It’s what people want to see so I wasn’t surprised that they wanted to have me back. As long as I go out there this time and perform like I know I can again and put on an exciting fight, I know they’ll keep having me back here.

“Originally it was meant to be Antwi. There was a date and venue set, then out of the blue – well, as soon as I put up that I was training at altitude in Albuquerque – the call came in to say he’d vacated the title. From the time of Antwi vacating the belt we had the Louis Greene fight settled within a couple of days.

“As far as them two (Antwi and Greene) go they are complete opposites. Antwi fights on the back foot and he likes you to go to him whereas Greene is a come