Unbeaten Phoenix Camp fighter Joshua Holmes ready to take a risk in order to get his reward!

The 26-year-old is now nine without loss as a professional having taken his career to the next level under coach Robert Rimmer.

He faced his toughest assignment to date when taking on Ruslan Berchuk at the Bolton Whites Hotel last month, but stopped the Russian super-featherweight in the final round of eight.

The victory, on the undercard of stablemate Jack Massey’s IBO World title success against Belgian cruiserweight Bilal Laggoune, propelled the ex-Yorkshire ABA champion into the top 20 at 130lbs in the British rankings.

“I’ve had four fights this year, it’s been non-stop, I’ve been busy in the gym,” he said. “I’ve stepped up from four to eight rounds.

“In my first fight at six rounds I stopped him in the second and now I’ve got a stoppage in my first fight at eight rounds. I’m progressing, but the best is yet to come.

“My body is still changing compared to when I first turned over as a professional. I was like a little boy then, but I’m progressing a lot with Rob and I think we’ll go a long way. There’ll be some exciting fights ahead.”

Rimmer and manager Kevin Maree are reading from the same page when conversations turn to Holmes’s potential. Both are in agreement that their charge, who hails from Earby and originally fought out of Eastburn ABC, has the ability to go all the way to the very top.

Holmes will take a risk when going up against an even better calibre of opponent in the new year, though there’ll likely be a prize at the end of it. The naturally gifted athlete is ready to bring the belts home, starting with a Central Area strap.

Holmes finished: “I’ve got some shoes to fill, but it is nice to hear. I put everything into training, I put my whole life into boxing, I make a lot of sacrifices that people don’t see. I think I’m capable myself, but it’s always nice to hear others making those comments.”

“For my next fight I think we’ll be looking at titles. We’re not involved in boxing for nothing. It’s a hard sport, we want to be on the big shows, we want titles.

“I want to be headlining, just like my team-mate Jack Massey, who won the IBO World title. I want to be in his shoes, I look up to him.

“That’s what I’m aiming for. Without risk, there’s no reward. You’ve got to take risks as a boxer, then you’ll reap the rewards.

“We’ll probably look at a Central Area title, that’s what my manager [Kevin Maree] had mentioned at the weigh in.

“We’ll look at this performance first, I probably performed a lot better than I thought I did, but I want titles. That’s what we’re in this game for.”