Portsmouth man's vow to show city’s fighting spirit to nation live on TV tonight

The Leigh Park light-heavyweight takes on Manchester’s classy operator live on Channel 5 at the Newcastle Arena, looking to cause what would be seen as a huge shock.

McIntyre is coming off the back of a stoppage English title win over Chad Sugden in July, as he took a sizeable step forward in his career after a three-year absence from the ring.

That title won’t be on the line with the fight taken at short notice - and the boxing world seeing a win for Arthur against the Pompey fan as a formality.

As of last night, McIntyre was priced a whopping 20/1 with Betfair with the 20-4 man’s chances being dismissed by the oddsmakers.

But the 34-year-old feels he fighting heart shouldn’t be discounted as boxing flourishes in the Portsmouth area, with the likes of Mikey McKinson, Lucas Ballingall, Mark Chamberlain and Ebonie Jones all making their marks.

McIntyre said: ‘I’m a massive underdog - 20/1. That’s 20/1 in a two-horse race.

‘But I’m born in Pompey, I’m a seasider and this is my city.

‘This is a maritime city, this is a fighting city.

‘Portsmouth boxing is on a high. Everyone was separate and it didn’t feel that there was necessarily great friendships between the camps in and around Portsmouth.

‘But now we’ve got Basecamp with Lea Jackson and Dan Till putting that work in - and everyone’s welcome.

‘So we all get in there together and there’s a good atmosphere.

‘There’s Mikey, Lucas and everyone else.

‘We all want everyone from the area to do well.

‘Now we’re pulling together - and there’s strength in numbers.

‘There’s young lads coming through as well, and the future looks bright.

‘Now I’m representing our city - and I’m going to carry our city forward.’

Arthur may be the man being heavily fancied by the bookies, but he’s had one fight since a stoppage defeat at the hands of Anthony Yarde last year.

The 20-1 man crumbled in the face of the Londoner’s onslaught in the rematch, following on from a career-high victory over Yarde in 2020.

McIntyre felt he’s seen weakness in his opponent which gives him cause for optimism.

He added: ‘I’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose, but I’ve got this.

‘I watched Yarde beat Arthur up - and he quit. I saw him quit.

‘If you’ve got that in you, I can’t see it going away - and I hit as least as strong as Yarde does.

‘Everyone knows I hit like a steam train - and he’s going to feel it.

‘He’s got a good jab, but if people ask what does Lyndon Arthur do, all they say is his jab. Well, brilliant.

‘My career is going forward. It wasn’t meant to be - and now it is.

‘I’ve got a chance to build something special. This is all unfinished business.’