JAMES McGIRT Jr. vs ANGEL HERNANDEZ

After a very disappointing performance in his last fight, James McGirt Jr. seems to have realised the need to rededicate himself to his boxing. His manager, Dennis Witherow, promises that we will see a much-improved McGirt when the southpaw middleweight meets durable veteran Angel Hernandez in a 10-rounder on Friday Night Fights.

It seemed almost unbelievable that McGirt would get held to a draw by the likes of Marcus Upshaw, who had lost three of his last four fights and been knocked out in one of them. Yet this was a desperate struggle for McGirt, who was floored in the last round.

McGirt and his father/trainer James McGirt Sr. travelled the two and a half hours from their gym in Vero Beach, FL, for sparring in Miami with Glen Johnson, who has a fight coming up with the southpaw Daniel Judah. It seems that Johnson not only sparred with McGirt but took a liking to him and offered him tips based on his own career, one which includes overcoming adversity.

“In this sport there are few men like Glen,” Witherow commented. “He knows the ups and downs and I am thankful that he has been willing to share that with James.

“We love our fans and I want them to know we listened. We have followed the advice of President-Elect Obama and made a change. I hope they all watch ESPN2 on Friday so they can see for themselves what the new James McGirt is all about.”

So many times fighters promise a new look, a fresh commitment, only to be disappointing in an actual fight. McGirt has a chance to redeem himself on Friday. If he loses, it’s all over, because while Hernandez is a game, exceptionally sturdy fighter who has been in with world-class opposition, this is a fight that McGirt should win.

McGirt, 26, is seven years younger than Hernandez, much taller, and he’s a southpaw. In his last fight before meeting Upshaw he gave his best performance so far when easily outpointing Raymond Joval, and the veteran from Holland holds a win over Hernandez.

I don’t see the fight with Hernandez as a sure thing for McGirt, though. He has never struck me as being all that robust, and a seasoned slugger such as Hernandez could give him problems. Although Hernandez was well beaten by Vanes Martirosyan in his last fight he was meeting a banger who was able to hurt him — he might feel he can steam straight into McGirt, who has nice boxing ability but has never been considered a very hard hitter.

There is no way that McGirt will stop Hernandez so he will have to outbox him over the long haul. McGirt should be able to do this, but Hernandez will be winging overhand rights and doing his best to put pressure on the younger man. I just do not know how much ambition Hernandez has these days. He has boxed just four times in the last five years, suggesting that he is no longer terribly serious about his boxing.

I am expecting, then, a clear but perhaps hard-fought win on points for McGirt. He may get ruffled and roughed up at times, but sparring with a strong aggressor such as Glen Johnson should have been beneficial to him, and while I do not expect an easy fight for McGirt I will be very surprised if he loses.