[2][3] He turned professional under managers Jarvis Astaire and Ben Schmidt, and made his pro debut in April 1951 with a first round knockout of Hector Macrow.
[4] He suffered his first defeat in October 1953 when he was beaten on points at the Royal Albert Hall by future World champion Hogan "Kid" Bassey.
McCarthy beat Teddy Peckham in April before challenging for the British title that Clayton had held for almost 7 years in June 1954 at White City Stadium.
[6] McCarthy was offered a rematch with Kelly, but after failing to make featherweight against Sneyers in November 1955 decided to move up to lightweight,[10] winning his first fight at the weight against Austrian champion Willi Swoboda.
[citation needed] He subsequently ran the Prince of Wales pub and went into boxing management, working with boxers such as Terry Spinks and Bobby Day.