Glenn McCrory recalls his world title win 25 years ago - and looks ahead to this weekend

Sky Sports’ very own Glenn McCrory won the IBF cruiserweight title 25 years ago and has been recognised for his achievement by the Variety Club charity. Now he strolls down memory lane...

It could have been Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson or King Kong – on the 3rd June 1989 nobody would beat me!

When I walked out of my terraced house at the bottom of Stanley Front Street, I gave my young toddler a kiss and I remember thinking ‘I wonder what’s going on in Stanley tonight?’

Why were so many people here? It was a surreal moment because I had no idea that what I was attempting was so big.

There were Rolls-Royces and when I walked into the sports centre they had queues to welcome celebrities in. There were 3,000 packed into a small arena, it was the first world title fight in the North-East. You know what people from the North-East are like! They had their own boy in his own backyard fighting for a world title against a Don King fighter.

Nobody who knew boxing thought I would win but every person in that hall knew I would. All of a sudden, any doubts I had were gone. When I got in the ring I thought ‘You know what? Nobody is beating me tonight’. It could have been Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson or King Kong – on the 3rd June 1989 nobody would beat me!

I knew all about Patrick Lumumba, he was a world amateur champion, very tough and very slick. He was a nasty Kenyan with Don King and I’d heard rumours he was bashing up Mike Tyson in sparring.

I remember thinking ‘I’m prepared to die for this and I don’t think he is’. The plan was to box, to use my height and reach. But he was being flashy, as if he was coming to just collect his belt, and I thought ‘I’m going to knock your head off’. I didn’t knock him out but I knocked the fight out of him. 

It was the greatest night of my life and the next morning was the worst of my life. For the first time ever, I didn’t have a dream anymore. I had put my flag in the top of Everest, I’d done the impossible, but then I had to go back down.

All this time later I’ve still got a new-born, just like I did 25 years ago!

Force

Tyson Fury will beat Dereck Chisora. I think he can stop him if he’s in the right frame of mind.

But at times he’s just a joker. Fury has always surprised me, he’s always boxed well within himself, almost to the point of joking. At times he’s looked vulnerable then he’s picked himself up from the floor and knocked his opponent out. He’s got the size and, if he can get really tuned it and mentally right, I think he could be a force in the heavyweight division. He’s a personality, isn’t he?

Chisora has had a chance at the world title before and came up short so this fight is about Fury shining. This is about ‘is Tyson the real deal?’ Can he do a proper job on Chisora? 

I push Anthony Joshua very strongly, I think he’s the real deal and will be the heavyweight champion. But at this moment, it would be a big, risky fight for him to take on Tyson Fury.

Another guy, and I’m not sure if his heart is in it yet, who might beat them all is David Haye. He could come in at this moment, as we’re speaking now, and beat every one of them.

What’s great about heavyweight boxing now is this conversation – previously there wasn’t one to be had.

Old-school

Chris Eubank Jr v Billy Joe Saunders is this weekend's fight that I'm looking forward to. Eubank is a mystery. I’ve watched him and thought ‘he’s a prospect’ but then I’ve watched him and thought ‘he’s very ordinary’. If you took away his dad – if he was called John Smith rather than Chris Eubank – he wouldn’t be fighting for the British, European and Commonwealth titles this weekend. 

Eubank’s dad has been building him up saying that he’d beat Gennady Golovkin right now! Maybe most fathers think their son is the greatest of all time. Eubank’s a good fighter and if he beats Saunders in a good way then we’ve got a superstar on our hands.

But Saunders was a teenage Olympian, he won the British and the European and the Commonwealth belts. He’s number one for the WBO championship because he earned it after coming through hard fights. He’s old-school and I’m not sure young Eubank is as sound as Saunders. I think Billy Joe will win.