LEE AIMS TO PACK A PUNCH AS A PRO

EDINBURGH bantamweight Lee McGregor has swapped the prospect of a Commonwealth Games medal for a chance to become the next big star of Scottish boxing. The 20-year-old has signed with Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions rather than delay joining the paid ranks for a further six months. Now McGregor will make his professional debut at the Royal Highland Centre on November 11 in a supporting role to stablemate Josh Taylor. ‘The Commonwealth Games is not a massive deal for me,’ he claimed yesterday. ‘I’m hoping to be remembered for being a world champion, not for winning a gold medal, and I believe I will be a different fighter by April. ‘I’ve already improved massively after five weeks with (trainer) Shane McGuigan and the quicker I get on the road the better. ‘As a kid, you dream of being a pro fighter. Now the dream is to be a world champion. ‘I can build my career on the back of Josh’s success.’ According to Barry McGuigan, McGregor (above) will fulfil his ambition of a major title within a handful of years, such is his potential. ‘He’s already an incredible talent,’ declared the former world featherweight champion. ‘I love his attacking style and the fact he does that with intelligence. ‘He’s also keen to learn and being in the same stable as Josh will be good for him whereas he could have been tied down in the amateurs for another three or four years. ‘Instead, by then, he’ll be a British or European champion. With the greatest respect to the amateurs, no one cares about gold medals.’ Yesterday’s announcement coincided with McGregor’s close friend Jason Cummings earning his first senior Scotland call-up for next week’s friendly against the Netherlands. ‘We grew up together in Saughton,’ said McGregor. ‘I’m not sure if Jason would have made it as a boxer, but I wasn’t a bad footballer. ‘We were on the same team with Hutchison Vale and I was also part of the Livingston pro-youth set-up. ‘But it got to the stage where I had to choose between boxing and football because I was at the highest level in both and I realised I wanted to be a boxer and not have to rely on anyone else.’