Brett Flournoy returns to the ring after a year out

Oct 14 2009 by Philip Kirkbride, Birkenhead News

UNDEFEATED Brett Flournoy says he is fully focused on boxing after a year out of the ring.

The Birkenhead pro (9-0-0) returns to action next Friday night at the Bolton Arena when he takes on Kevin McIntyre (27-6-0) in front of the Sky TV cameras.

Southpaw Flournoy, nicknamed ‘The Soul’, is hoping a victory against Scottish fighter McIntyre will lead to an eliminator for John O’Donnell’s Commonwealth welterweight title.

McIntyre, 31, is the former British welterweight champion, losing the belt to current holder Kell Brook in November last year.

Flournoy confirmed preparations are going to plan after some choice sparring with recently crowned International Masters light-heavyweight champion Carl Dilks.

A former Wallasey ABC star, Flournoy’s last bout was a points win over Vladimir Borovsky in May 2008.

Flournoy, trained by Karl Ince, said: “I was offered a fight deal and the chance to get back in the frame.

“If I beat McIntyre, then it could lead to a final eliminator against Craig Watson for John O’Donnell’s Commonwealth title.

“I have had a lot of outside influences in the past few years and so haven’t been able to concentrate on boxing. I put it on the back burner but I am back in the game now.

“This is meant just to be a warm up fight to push me up the rankings. I was ranked inside the top 20 in Britain but if you are inactive for a year, they take you out of them.

“A win would put me right back up there, probably in the top 10.

“I have been back in the gym for four weeks now, in full-out training and in my sparring I have been feeling quite fresh.

“In the last year I have hardly done anything, just a couple of days here and a couple of days there. I tried to come back in the summer and trained for five weeks but the African lad I was meant to be fighting, pulled out.

“When I am fit, I can give anyone a fight.

“The lad is definitely beatable, that is why Steve Woods was happy to take this chance straight away. I want to put on a good show.”

The Bolton bill, topped by the European light-middleweight title clash between Jamie Moore and Ryan Rhodes, also features a number of Merseyside boxers.

Olympian heavyweight David Price, super-flyweight Paul Edwards and bantamweight Gary Davies all feature.