AT six foot-seven inches and 18 stone, Gary Cornish, the giant Highland heavyweight, hardly requires anyone to come to his aid.
But Tommy Gilmour, the boxer’s manager, chose to do so yesterday when he vented his fury at the unfair treatment Cornish has been subjected to by English critics quick to dismiss his chances of beating Olympic gold medallist Anthony Joshua to claim the vacant Commonwealth title.
Some have even gone as far as to suggest that Saturday evening’s contest at the O2 Arena is a complete mismatch, to the extent that they have tipped Joshua to complete his task in the matter of a round or two, at most.
But while Cornish was content to allow Joshua to do most of the talking when the ring rivals went head to head in London, Gilmour was outspoken.
The veteran Glasgow promoter said: “I do not know why we are here when people are already talking about Joshua fighting Dillian Whyte on December 12. That is extremely disrespectful to Gary.
“But those who have dismissed him so readily risk being left with egg on their faces because the big fellow is more than capable of becoming the first Scottish heavyweight to win a major title. He has not come simply to make up numbers.”
For his part, Cornish, 28, believes that his actions will speak much louder than words after stressing that he does not pay heed to what the so-called “experts” think.
He said: “I am not going to give anything away, but I am confident that I can outbox Joshua and win. This is the biggest bout of my career but he has never faced anyone of my size and with my power and I am coming to have a fight.
“My strength has gone through the roof. I have beaten all my personal bests and my power has come on a lot. I have sparred more than 100 rounds and I can feel the difference.”
No opponent has managed to take 26-year-old Joshua beyond three rounds, and with the bulk of the expected 12,000 crowd on the Englishman’s side, it is a huge ask for Cornish, who has 12 knockouts from 21 wins compared to Joshua’s 13 from 13.
But Cornish is adamant that he isn’t in the least fazed by the size of his task, adding: “I respect Anthony Joshua but I do not fear him. I will be victorious.”
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