Fights TBA on Nov. 11th

Press Release:  James McGirt, Jr. (19-1, 9 KOs), coming off of his first career loss, passed his first test since the loss on June 25th, when he won a unanimous 10-round decision against Raymond “Hallelujah” Joval (37-5, 16  KOs). McGirt, who returns to the ring November 11, 2008 in Hollywood, Florida, (Glen Johnson and Edision Miranda headline the card in separate bouts) against an opponent to be determined, successfully bounced back from his first pro loss in April to Carlos DeLeon, Jr. McGirt has started to establish his own identity, somewhat breaking from the shadows of his father and head trainer, 2-time world champion James “Buddy” McGirt – James doesn’t use the nickname “Buddy” – with his win against Joval. “I felt better about myself after the Joval fight,” James said, “but it didn’t erase the loss (to DeLeon). But I did beat The Ring’s No. 8 rated middleweight (Joval). I beat a well experienced fighter, but I still have to whoop Carlos DeLeon so I can sleep good again at night.”

McGirt recently shifted training camp from Vero Beach to Las Vegas, where his father is preparing Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi for his November 22nd showdown against Ricky Hatton. “I’ve had a real good training camp and it’s going to get even better in Las Vegas,” James remarked. “I don’t know who I’m fighting but it doesn’t matter. Whoever it is, he’s going to have to worry about me. Paulie’s getting ready for his big fight with Hatton. My dad is his trainer, so I’m going where he is, and I respect that. I need to get away anyway. I’ve been home too long. I’ll be working harder out there and will be able to focus even more. It’s going to help get me in the right frame of mind with five weeks to go so I can go kick some butt. I can promise you this: I will be ready to fight on November 11th.”