Shayne Singleton vows to take the English crown tonight

The 23-year-old goes in to the biggest fight of his life on the back of a 100 per cent record from 13 professional contests, which includes the capture of the International Masters belt in his last outing versus Nicaraguan foe Santos Medrano in October.

Former Sheffield United, Birmingham City and England Under 21 midfielder Woodhouse took the crown in September when beating Dave Ryan over 10 rounds via a majority decision at Rotherham’s Magna Centre, but Singleton is confident he’ll overthrow his opponent from his throne.

The pair headline the show, billed the “War of the Roses”, at Manchester’s Bowler’s Arena this evening.

“I’ve been killing myself to make the weight,” declared Singleton, nicknamed the Pain. “I weighed in at 10st 5oz at the beginning of the week and had to make 10st for the official weigh-in yesterday. I was struggling to get it off a bit because my body holds water. I’ve been having to do sweat drills when I really should’ve been resting. But I’ve had chance to re-hydrate myself before the fight and get everything back in.

“I’m confident, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’m probably more nervous than I’ve ever been but I won’t let it get on top of me. I’m very confident I’m going to do it. It’s the biggest moment of my career and I’m not going to give this opportunity up. I want that belt.”

Singleton added: “I definitely feel good physically. I hit a wall at one point during my training because I was working so hard which meant I had to slow it down for a few days to let my body recover. I’m peaking again now, at the perfect time, and I’m ready to go.

“I’ve changed a lot of things during training in preparation. Sparring has been demanding, they’ve been partnering me up with opponents who put pressure on and get in my face. I’ve had to train against that sustained pressure because that’s his style. I like boxing on the back foot but it’s a completely different proposition when somebody is pressurising you.

“Nobody from the region has ever won a belt of this stature. I’d be making history and it would be a great achievement in my life. This would be my greatest achievement by far. I was over the moon when I won the International Masters title but this is on another level. I’m honoured to get a shot at the English title. This would put me right up there if I win it and I could get a shot at anything.”