St Ives Boxing Academy chief Steve Whitwell hopes to see a more mature Matty Parr when the fighter returns to the ring next month.

Light heavyweight Parr has been out of action since suffering a defeat in his second professional fight last September.

But the 24-year-old is set to kick his career back into gear when fighting in a show at The Halls in Norwich on July 15 against a still-to-be-confirmed opponent.

Trainer Whitwell said: “Matty is a promoter’s dream because he sells lots of tickets and always puts on a show.

“He is an exciting fighter who wears his heart on his sleeve, but he takes a few too many shots and needs to focus more on boxing rather than just going in the ring for a tear-up.

“My job is to make that happen and hopefully we will see a more mature fighter when he gets back into the ring next month.

“He got caught with a silly shot when on top in his last fight and ended up with a loss on his record.

“He has had a bit of time out since then to get his head straight and work on a few things. Hopefully we can now get him back on the road he wants to go down.”

Parr won his pro debut when beating Egidijus Kakstys on points almost a year ago, but he was stopped by Iain Jackson in his second outing. Both of those fights were also in Norwich.

St Ives Boxing Academy amateur ace Jack Smith is competing in the Haringey Box Cup at Alexandra Palace in London this weekend. The 18-year-old will line up in the flyweight division.