Last Minute Heartbreak
Jack Maguire is relishing the chance to compete on one of Europe’s biggest promotions as he prepares to fight on Oktagon 63 next week. The Irish fighter faces Radek “Ruchy” Rousal in a catchweight bout in Bratislava on Nov. 9 and is grateful for the opportunity given that his last fight fell through in rather frustrating circumstances.
“It’s short notice alright” said Maguire of the Rousal fight this week. “I was lined up to fight in September in my hometown of Cork, I had completed my camp and I was ready to go then the opponent pulled out. So I’ve just added an extra few weeks to that training camp and stayed ready, and thankfully my manager (Barry O’Callaghan) found me this opportunity in Bratislava. It’s a great opportunity for me, I get to fight at last which is brilliant”.
Maguire (2-1) had been set to face Joao Batista in the main event on Elite Fighting Championships on Sept. 21 but the fight fell apart when his Portuguese opponent failed to receive medical clearance.
“I made weight on the Friday morning before I found out he pulled out” he explained. “So I got the whole camp and the weigh-in done, kind of a practice run for this one. I did 95 percent of the work and got cheated out of the only good part of the whole job. It was a real kick in the ass but what can you do? That’s the fight game unfortunately”.
Making A Long Awaited Return
Maguire’s first two professional outings took place under the Cage Warriors banner in 2019 and 2020 before the Cork native suffered a series of setbacks due to injuries. He finally returned to competitive action in March after a three-and-a-half-year absence.
“I fought on St. Patrick’s Day this year in Tenerife” he said, “but I had a long layoff with injuries before that. I had great intentions of having a busy, active pro career going straight from one fight to the next but I had health issues after my pro debut, I had a serious back problem. I tried to avoid surgery after the second fight.”
“I made the mistake of trying to rush back into fights and get ready for them, trying to chase opportunities but I ended up just ruining myself. I had to learn to be patient. I had such a long layoff, and when that happens it’s very easy to get comfortable doing nothing. But I was always training, staying in the gym, always staying involved helping some our amateur fighters prepare for fights, I just didn’t get into the cage myself to compete”.
Maguire won his comeback fight in impressive fashion, finishing his opponent Javier Mendoza in the third round. “It was nice to finally get back in the saddle in March” he said with a smile. “The timing felt right for me both injury-wise and from a mental perspective. Now that I’m up on the horse the plan is to keep going”.
Standing across from him on Nov. 9 will be Radek Rousal (3-1) who has been making waves within the Czech promotion over the past 18 months. “Ruchy” has picked up impressive victories over Arman Herczeg, Kallum Parker and Nezar Bahaji and also brings a strong professional boxing pedigree into the cage, something which Maguire is aware of. “I’ve watched his last couple of MMA fights” explained the Irishman. “I know I’m going over to Bratislava for a tough fight against Radek and the aim is to minimize the damage while I’m in there with him”.
Massive Platform
With Oktagon making waves on the European MMA scene and drawing impressive crowds everywhere they go, they have quickly become one of the big players in the fight game.
“It’s a great opportunity” said Maguire. “It’s amazing fighting on these big shows. I fought in Cage Warriors which is a massive platform around the world of MMA and getting that exposure on the big promotions is great, and Oktagon looks to be a massive promotion too so I’m delighted to get in there.
“I’m not really one for showmanship, big events and huge crowds. I like to keep my head down and stay under the radar but at the end of the day once I have an opponent and I’m allowed to get in there and fight then I’m happy. Anything after that is a bonus, it’ll be nice to feel the atmosphere, see the big crowd and the show, I’m really looking forward to it”.
Jack Maguire faces Radek Rousal at Oktagon 63 on Nov. 9 in Bratislava.
