McGrail vs Leach Predictions: KO on the cards for former Commonwealth champ

Peter McGrail looks to return to winning ways this Saturday, April 27, as he takes on Marc Leach. The Exhibition Centre in Liverpool will play host to this super bantamweight collision with DAZN broadcasting. Here are my McGrail vs Leach predictions ahead of a must-win bout for both men.

This isn’t the fight McGrail signed up for. He was scheduled to face world-ranked Detroit native JaRico O'Quinn. The fight was intended as a rematch after ‘The Great Lakes King’ stopped McGrail in five rounds last December. But the American withdrew to attend to “personal family matters”, as revealed by Matchroom Boxing.

In steps former British super bantamweight champion Marc Leach. The Salford boy will relish this chance as he is coming off the back of two consecutive defeats. Liam Davies outscored him in 2022, but considering the fact his conqueror has gone on to win European and IBO titles that is no embarrassment. 

Another loss followed, a seventh-round stoppage to unbeaten prospect Masood Abdulah last October. After an unbeaten 19-fight run, Leach is now having to deal with consecutive losses for the first time in his career. This unexpected chance against the once-touted McGrail could make or break his career.

The same could be said for McGrail of course. An Olympian and Commonwealth gold medalist in the amateurs, the Scouse southpaw turned over with high expectations in 2021. For his first eight fights, McGrail met those lofty goals. 

Racing to 8-0 with five knockout wins, McGrail navigated the move from facing journeymen in learning fights to more ambitious quarry with aplomb. A shutout points win over unbeaten prospect Fran Mendoza seemed to put the division on notice. Then the O’Quinn fight happened.

On reflection, the match perhaps came too soon. But it says everything for how well McGrail was thought of that nobody pointed that out beforehand. The sole loss on the American’s record shaped perceptions of his quality. While that first-round defeat to Saul Sanchez was damaging, O’Quinn had not allowed it to define him. Considering the fact Sanchez took WBO bantamweight champion Jason Moloney to a majority decision in January, that choice was very wise.

Now it is McGrail who must be careful not to let a setback colour perceptions of his ability. The instant gratification of a rematch has been denied him, but that could be a blessing in disguise. Boxing history is littered with examples of rematches taken too soon and careers derailed as a result. 

Look at Joe Joyce. Just under a year ago he was the granite-chinned powerhouse who was seen as having the best chance of upsetting the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk duopoly. Two stoppage losses to Zhilei Zhang later and he is flattering to deceive against domestic fighters like Kash Ali.

McGrail can’t let that happen. Fighting Leach offers him a chance to get his sea legs under him before a possible O’Quinn rematch. If his recent knockout loss has not ebbed his powers too greatly, McGrail is a class above his opponent here. I expect that to bear out over the course of the fight. I’m going for McGrail to wrap this one up by knockout at odds of 4/7, which implies a 63.6% probability.

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