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Lewis Ritson is eagerly anticipating the roar of the Newcastle crowd as he prepares to take on Hank Lundy next weekend.
Ritson (21-2, 12 KOs) returns against former world title challenger Lundy (31-9-1, 14 KOs) at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on October 16, live on Sky Sports.
The hometown hero will be attempting to get back to winning ways in the fight, and he is expecting a difficult challenge against Lundy.
Ritson said: “It’s great to be back live on Sky Sports and in my home city and I can’t wait to hear the roar of the crowd.
“I wanted to come back with a test and Lundy will definitely provide that. Apart from Ponce, he will be the hardest fighter that I’ve fought. We got offered a fighter a few levels below Lundy but I wanted a challenge and to put a great fight on for the fans.
“Lundy is a very dangerous opponent. He gave Crawford a good go, he’s only been stopped twice – by Crawford and John Molina – and he’s just fought the world number two in his last fight [Zepeda], took him to points and wobbled the lad quite badly.
“It’s definitely going to be a hard night’s work on October 16 but we wanted to jump straight back into the mix with an opponent who is very experienced at world level.
“I didn’t want to offer the fans an underwhelming fight which would have them giving me stick on social media! It’s going to be tough night but we’re looking at a Ritson victory.”
Elsewhere on next weekend’s show, Hughie Fury takes on Christian Hammer, Savannah Marshall defends her WBO middleweight title against Lolita Muzeya, and Mark Dickinson makes his professional debut.