At 36, Belfast’s Padraig 'The Hammer' McCrory might be seen as past his prime by some, but he feels more alive than ever heading into his light heavyweight bout with Leonard Carrillo at Belfast’s SSE Arena. The fight, airing Friday on the ProBox TV app, marks McCrory’s return to the ring following a sixth-round knockout loss to Edgar Berlanga in February.

“Yeah, listen, I'm 36 now,” McCrory, 18-1 (9 KOs), told ProBox TV. “The experience was great, and I think I’ll learn from it, but the performance that night just wasn’t good enough. I don’t think I showed up.”

Carrillo, 17-5 (16 KOs), hails from Barranquilla, Colombia, but now fights out of Barcelona, Spain. At 35, the southpaw power puncher has fought only once in 2024, securing a second-round TKO over Luis Guillermo Berrio. Though McCrory acknowledges Carrillo’s dangerous skill set, he’s also drawing from the Berlanga bout, which gave him worldwide exposure.

“He’s a southpaw with 16 knockouts and fought at a really good level as an amateur,” McCrory said. “I’ve boxed plenty of southpaws in the amateurs and a couple as a pro, so I know I can adapt and do what’s needed to win. But yeah, he has 16 KOs, so I’m going to need to be switched on. He probably sees me as a chance to get a big fight, and I can’t let that happen.”

McCrory balances boxing with a personal training business, not relying solely on his fight career for his living and career. “I’m only 19 fights in, and over the last six and a half years, we had two years where nothing really happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I still have a deep desire to test myself against the best, and I feel I didn’t do that against Berlanga.”

Despite setbacks, McCrory’s ambitions are set high, aiming for title contention in the super middleweight division.

“I take it fight by fight, but I have a three-fight plan to get back into title contention,” McCrory said. “Who knows what will happen with Canelo? He could move up, challenge Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev, and those belts could be spread out. My aim is to get back in the world rankings and into position for a big opportunity.”