‘The Nightmare’ is a dream fight for Gary
Cambuslang boxer Gary Ducie is dreaming of a Commonwealth title fight against Nathaniel ‘The Nightmare’ Collins after making his return to the ring.
The 26-year-old won his first fight in over two years against Luke Fash at New Douglas Park last month.
It was only his second professional bout and Ducie had to recover from a nasty head clash that required four stitches in the round.
The featherweight recovered impressively to secure a 40-36 win on points in front of a big crowd at Hamilton Accies but Ducie is keen to improve.
“I thought I could have done a lot better but I got caught in the first round with a head clash.
“It was my first fight in about two and a half years so I was just getting into my stride.
“I needed four stitches because it was just an accidental clash of heads. There was no malice in it at all, it was just a clash of heads because he was a wee bit smaller than me.
“I managed to connect with a lot of body shots and I felt like I was hitting my stride towards the end of the last round.
“I was really getting into it so I’d like to fight for four or six rounds next time. I was really happy to get the win on the points.”
Collins claimed the vacant Commonwealth featherweight title as the headline act on the same show as Ducie.
The O’Neil’s ABC fighter would love a bout against his fellow Scot but he knows that he needs to earn that opportunity.
He said: “I want to just keep progressing by fighting in warm-up fights before targeting a title shot.
“The Scottish title would be my dream and it’s vacant at my weight just now
“Nathaniel Collins is the Commonwealth champion at my weight so that’s something to aim for further down the line.
“I need more experience first and I’ll get that by having more fights with more rounds.
“I want to get back in the ring again this year and there is talk about a possible fight in October.
“It was really tough to go so long without a fight and I had to make sure I kept my focus
“It can be like that in the world of boxing.
“There are so many ups and downs so you need to keep your mindset on the bigger goal.”