Jay Hughes is back and what a stage to make a return.
Sixteen months since his last appearance in the ring, the 21-year-old resumes with a derby dust-up with fellow unbeaten North-East fighter Kris Pilkington at Dunston on Saturday.
The Tyneside rivals, from either side of the river, top the bill of the Steve Wraith and Phil Jeffries event at the Lancastrian Suite.
It should be a great fight, a great night too, and for Hughes there is excitement to have returned.
Hughes turned pro as a teenager with his amateur trainer, David Binns, after showing considerable promise at the East Durham club in Peterlee.
The Trimdon-born Crimdon-based prospect chalked up five straight wins with the East Durham College before deciding to try his luck elsewhere last summer.
Hughes has now joined the MTK set-up in Gateshead where he is being trained by Gary Barr and he can’t wait to go to work for them.
“It’s a brilliant set up at MTK,” Hughes told punch-lines.
“It’s a great platform to get my name out there and to get the opportunities I didn’t have before signing with them.”
The MTK brand is growing in a multitude of locations but it’s on their Gateshead doorstep where Hughes will look to make an early impact.
It’s a tough opener for Jay (pictured left). Not only is local pride on the line, Kris is going to be a difficult and aggressive foe.
Pilkington (pictured right), boxing out of the Jobes Gym in Newcastle, is undefeated after three bouts.
Hughes is certainly not taking his opponent lightly but is quietly confident he can come out on top.
“It’s a great little local derby,” he said. “But I believe my boxing brain and experience will result in me being the victor on the night.
“But also it’s a good fight for the fans to get excited for.”
Jay’s MTK team-mates, Chad Ellis, Darren Reay, and Kyle Redfearn are also in action.
Redcar’s Joe Hill and Newcastle’s Dean Laing box while there is a derby between Tynesider Zaki Shirzad and Darlington’s Adam Hutchinson.
Unbeaten Newcastle light-heavy Lawrence Osueke is also in action.
Words: Roy Kelly
