After three years out with a serious hand injury, Bedford’s world champion Muay Thai fighter is looking to get back on the title hunt with a world title eliminator against Frenchman, Darren Rolland in April.
Dan McGowan has come a long way since his first professional fight at the tender age of just 15, where he was the youngest European Muay Thai fighter to compete in Thailand at the Lumpinee Stadium.
However, the two time World Champion – who has 37 wins from 43 fights – is determined to get back the belt he was forced to vacate due to a nasty hand injury that saw him out of the sport for a considerable length of time.
The O2 awaits
That world title eliminator, where McGowan faces former WBC world champion, Rolland takes place at the world-renowned O2 Arena in London as part of the Hitman Fight League event on 15th April.
Out of McGowan’s 43 professional fights, many of them have taken place in the homeland of Muay Thai, with McGowan unbeaten at two prestigious Thai stadiums, the Lumpinee Stadium and the Rajadamnern Stadium.
The world title eliminator is a bit closer to home for McGowan who trains out of the Minatour Gym in Kings Langley, whilst also running McGowan Muay Thai in Bedford.
McGowan’s two world titles came in 2016 and 2017; the second of which came against the current world champion from Thailand, Chalwalan but McGowan has his sights on reclaiming those belts.
Speaking exclusively to Bedford Independent, McGowan is quietly confident of his chances on 15th April.
“The training is intense, but it’s what has to be done to become the champion.
“Rolland is a legit world class opponent who held the WBC world title so I’m taking it seriously but I’m confident I’ll get the job done.
“My hand doesn’t have too many issues anymore but it’s never going to be 100% but I have the ability to be able to work around it.”
The winner of this super-featherweight fight goes on to face Chalwalan, although the Thai fighter is defending his title next week so it may be a different opponent come world title fight time.
All of the focus is on 15th April however, with McGowan hoping to find the talent and the character that made him a two-time world champion.
Tickets for McGowan’s fight can be bought directly from the O2 website here.
