Posted online: May 28th, 2009

By Dermot Keys

Tommy McCafferty will be hoping to pick up a second world kickboxing title when he takes on Frenchman Dino Perrotto in the Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny, on Saturday night.
The Letterkenny man already holds World, European and Commonwealth titles at Light-Middleweight but the lack of challengers in that division has led him to step up to Middleweight. Fighting at a higher weight has certain advantages.
“You feel it,” McCafferty told the Letterkenny Post.
“You’ve a lot more energy this time and you feel a lot fitter. You don’t have to drain yourself down to get down to the weight. I feel a lot stronger.”
McCafferty has acquired a reputation as a destructive fighter at Light-Middleweight and believes that he’ll carry this power through to Saturday’s fight.
“I think I kind of carry the power anyway, to be honest. I’ve never had any trouble at 75kg with power. The last time I fought at 75kg I knocked the boy out in the first round so the power’s not really a problem.”
The 23-year-old will also have benefited from going 12 rounds against Fran Zuccala to win the world title in November.
“It’s a big thing to get the 12 rounds out of the way for the first time. It’s just a mental thing. Once you do it once, you can do it a 100 times. You know how hard you can push for 12 rounds. It’s not going to take an awful lot out of you.”
He admits that the very experienced Frenchman will be a “formidable” opponent but will be focusing on his own fight. One big advantage will be the home venue.
“It’s great to have that home support,” admitted McCafferty. “There’s nowhere like it to fight. It lifts you. The atmosphere is phenomenal out there.”