LIVERPOOL, England - This time last year, Peter McGrail was finalising preparations for a high profile fight with European junior featherweight champion, Dennis McCann, on the undercard of the unified heavyweight title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.

McCann’s late removal from the card due to an adverse finding in a pre-fight drug test meant that McGrail ended up beating the talented substitute, Rhys Edwards, over 10 rounds at super featherweight. It was a very solid win but earned him a fraction of the recognition or reward that beating McCann would have.

In June, McGrail agreed to take on his undefeated British rival Shabaz Masoud. Three weeks before the fight, Masoud withdrew through injury and McGrail was given the thankless task of fighting the awkward Ionut Baluta.

He kept his mind on the job and succeeded where a number of his fellow Brits had failed by beating the hard Romanian.

On December 6, McGrail (12-1, 6 KOs) and Masoud (14-0, 4 KOs) are scheduled to meet in Monte Carlo. The European junior bantamweight title will be on the line.

Experience will have taught McGrail not to count his chickens but the 29-year-old Liverpudlian can’t wait to finally get one of his British rivals in the ring.

“I'm really excited for this fight,” McGrail told The Ring.

“It’s a main event in Monte Carlo and it’s for the European title. It’s a big one, I’m feeling great in the gym and can't wait to get over there.

“It's the biggest fight of my life to date and it's going to be a great night come December 6th.”

Masoud is a slick, clever fighter who is capable of walking opponents into traps but McGrail represented Great Britain at the 2020 Olympic Games and spent years fighting at the highest level as an amateur. The fight could easily become a high stakes chess match.

Surprisingly, the two have never sparred and although McGrail hasn’t spent hours studying Masoud, he does know enough to respect him.

“I haven't watched too much of him over the years,” he said. “I know he's been about for years the same as me, all through the amateurs and he's boxed for years like myself. He's a very good fighter but I believe I'm a great fighter.”

McGrail is an undoubted talent who has rebounded well from the shock of being knocked out by unheralded American, Ja’rico O’Quinn, two years ago.

McGrail had dropped the Michigan native twice and comprehensively outboxed him before being caught by a single right hand.

He rebounded as well as possible from the shock defeat and has reeled off four straight wins over good opposition.

When he first turned professional, McGrail was widely touted as a surefire future world champion and there remains the definite feeling that he has yet to show exactly what he is capable of. Beating Masoud would secure him his first major title and move him an important step closer to world class.

“In certain fights they've seen little snippets but there's a lot more to come and it's down to me to show that,” he said.

“I don't think it's anything down to the opposition. It’s down to yourself and I'm feeling great in the gym.

“Not much has altered in my game, just improvements. There’s always improvements to be made. No one's the perfect fighter in or out of the ring so there's a lot of improvements that I've been doing and I can't wait to show them.”