St Neots fighter Tommy Martin insists he has taken the advice of those closest to him by stepping down a weight bracket.

The 22-year-old will fight at lightweight for the first time when returning to the ring on July 30 as part of a Matchroom Boxing Show at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

Martin has been out of action since suffering a final-round defeat to John Wayne Hibbert in a Commonwealth and WBC International Light-Welterweight title fight at the end of January.

Now he can’t wait to launch a new chapter – against an as yet unnamed opponent - in a professional career that already features 13 wins and two title successes.

Martin said: “I’ve listened to my trainer, my strength and conditioning coach, and my management team – and they are all saying the same thing.

“They all think lightweight is the only option for me and I’m certainly prepared to follow their advice.

“Rather than being at the bottom end of the light welterweight division weight-wise, I’ll now be one of the biggest lightweights around and hopefully I can use that to my advantage.

“I don’t have a clue who I’ll be fighting on July 30, but I can’t wait to be back in the ring and doing the business again.

“This fight is all about getting back to winning ways before pushing on for a title later in the year.

“Lightweight is a great division with two world champions from Britain, and I’m relishing the challenge.”

Martin is heading off to Macklin’s Gym in Marbella, Spain, this weekend to step up the preparations for his ring return.