Curve Lake boxer rising to the challenge
Jordan McCue fights on Eye of the Tiger card May 15 in Quebec City
The pandemic sidelined pro boxing in Canada for some time but Jordan McCue put the downtime to good use.
He’ll return to the ring for the first time in 18 months on an Eye of the Tiger promotions card in Quebec City on May 15. The show will be held at the Hilton Hotel with no spectators and streamed live on www.punchinggrace.com.
McCue’s manager/trainer, Kerry Hendren, said the contract is signed for a fight with multi-time Canadian amateur champion Clovis Drolet who represented Canada at the 2015
Pan Am Games. Drolet possesses an 11-1 pro record with seven knockouts. McCue, who turns 29 on Thursday, is 3-1 with one knockout.
They’ll box six rounds at the 160-pound middleweight limit.
At first blush it might seem like a risky fight for McCue, who hails from Curve Lake First Nation, but they look at it as an opportunity. Hendren says McCue’s punching power gives him a chance against any opponent.
“Jordan is game,” said Hendren. “He is a punch away from being really good.”
In addition to being 29, another thing the two boxers have in common is they both lost their last fight to the same opponent. Whereas McCue was never hurt in losing a decision to Brampton’s Mponda Kalunga, Hendren says Drolet was knocked down three times in a decision loss to Kalunga.
“Jordan can beat this guy,” said Hendren.
McCue doesn’t mind being the underdog.
“I’ll use that to my advantage,” said McCue. “They’re going to overlook me. This is the hardest I’ve worked for a fight training wise. The pressure is all off me and all on him because he’s coming out expected to win.”
Records don’t mean a lot to McCue.
“A seasoned amateur and pro like him with lots of experience, I was all for it. Those are the types of fights I want to take as a professional. I’m not looking to box to build up a pretty record or undefeated record. I want to fight the best of the best and they’ve given me this opportunity so I’m coming prepared.
“I got defeat out of the way. It takes a toll on you but if you take the lessons learned from it you’re only going to grow and evolve. I did that and put it into my training for this fight. I grew from it and stayed positive and motivated,” he said.
His opponent won’t be as elusive as Kalunga.
“Stylistically, he’s a come-forward fighter which is my type of fight. That plays into my favour. I can box and I can stay in a pocket and counterpunch and outwork opponents.”
It’s a relief to know he can resume his career. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m grateful for the opportunity Quebec offers me to fight this guy,” he said.
Hendren says McCue is in the best shape he’s ever seen him in because of the training time the pandemic created.
“I’ve been training full-time and working out lots and constantly evolving my skills in boxing,” said McCue. “I picked up from my last loss and took the lesson I learned from my last loss to motivate me and push me to the next level during these hard times.
“It was hard sometimes because I’ve had some fights fall out and I wasn’t sure if fights were going to come through but I decided to look at it in a positive way. To look at it as more time to train and evolve my skillset.”
Apart from going to the gym to train, which is permitted for professional athletes, McCue and Hendren have to quarantine for 12 days before heading to Quebec. They have to arrive two days in advance and pass a COVID-19 test before being allowed into the hotel bubble where they must remain.