Tyson Fury comeback can put Lee McGregor back on world stage
The return of former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury this spring is music to Lee McGregor's ears.
Fury announced his retirement from the ring last January in wake of successive defeats to Ukrainian rival Oleksandr Usyk.
However, the 37-year-old is making a comeback to the sport and plans to fight three times in 2026, his first outing on Saturday, April 11, against Canadian-based Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Edinburgh's McGregor has his own upcoming duel to focus on in Glasgow, on March 13, the 29-year-old determined to get his stuttering career back on track and seeking a win that can propel him up the featherweight rankings.
The return of the Gypsy King has also whetted McGregor's appetite for a second fight in quick succession.
The former Commonwealth, British, and European bantamweight champion was part of a star-studded undercard when Fury lost to Usyk for a second time in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, in December 2024, the Scot toppling Morecambe's Isaac Lowe in the most glamorous setting.
And McGregor, who has just recovered from a broken eye socket, would love to be part of another blockbuster event headlined by Fury.
"Tyson Fury has announced he's fighting in April so I messaged him on Instagram," McGregor explained to the Evening News. "He replied but I'm not going to say what he said! That's a genuine target for me. When you are preparing for a big fight, it takes a lot out of you, and then you do tend to need a month, or six weeks to recover. However, my fight I have coming up in March, this is one to get me back into it, test my eye out, and get the win. I want to be back in the gym the Monday after so it has to be a target of mine."
McGregor had relocated to Liverpool in early November to train, but hit a stumbling block when he suffered an injury while sparring just a couple of weeks later.
"I was offered a big fight in Nigeria just before Christmas," he said. "I was deep in training for that and well on my way to getting myself back when I broke the orbital bone in my eye. It was just a shot I took while sparring and nothing that's not ever happened before, but it just felt different.
"I even felt the pain in my teeth, it was bad. But I still carried on. I left it, then went and trained again in the evening. I was just doing a light run but, when I came out of the gym, my eye was like a balloon. I then knew something was wrong. I got myself to hospital at 11pm that night, they did a scan, and confirmed there was a break.
"So that ruled me out of the fight in Nigeria. It hadn't been announced, but it had been offered and I had accepted. It was just another massive blow. I came back up the road from Liverpool and, to be honest, over Christmas was really difficult. On the back of that I lost a couple of sponsors, so it hit me hard. I'm now back home again. I've been in the gym every day since new year.
"My eye is healed so it's just about getting ready for March now. It's an ideal situation for me - the fight suits me. It's like I'm reliving 2024 as I had a few smaller fights and then I got the big one at the end. I want to do the same but not have to wait until the end of the year this time."
While determined to maximise the time he has left in the ring, the Capital fighter is also building the foundations for when he does decide to hang up the gloves. This week he launched his own personal boxing training business.
He said: "People have been on at me for years to start my own training. It's something I want to pursue further as I plan on being involved in boxing for a very long time. I need to think of my future, my family's future. So as much as I'm fully focused on my own career and what I want to achieve, I want to get something going in the background. I want to help people. And what a response I've had since I announced it on Wednesday morning. My phone has blown up.
"It's not easy this sport. People from the outside think it's all glitz and glam but it's far from it. I've got a family. It's a big pressure.
"It can go one or two ways when you go through hard times in your life and career - some go on a mad drink and drug binge. Don't get me wrong, there was a wee spell over Christmas where I did have a wee drink with my pals with me not fighting. But boxing is all I know. I desperately want my own gym in the future.
"I'm now back in my very first boxing gym of Clovenstone Amateur Boxing Club. I just need to deal with the cards I'm dealt. It makes such a difference when you have a fight date and that's something I have. When I became European champion in 2022, I knew what was happening. It was fight, win, celebrate, holiday, repeat. I was doing it all. But so many obstacles have come my way since then. But I'm still here. I am only 29. There's still so much left. I need to make these next couple of years count, in and out of the ring."
McGregor's close friend, and former stablemate, Josh Taylor, disclosed on a podcast last week how mentally challenging he's found retirement from boxing. The former undisputed super lightweight champion announced he was calling it quits due to a medical issue last July.
"Josh and I keep meaning to meet up," he said. "Everyone's different and deals with things in their own way. Josh has been in the gym his whole life and I feel that's where he needs to be. But, at the same time, I can understand he doesn't want to be there because he's obviously given his full life to it.
"He just needs to take however long he needs to get rid of boxing or whatever it requires. It's not even been a year since he announced his retirement so once everything has settled down and he's back to feeling himself again, he'll get a plan in place I'm sure."