Unbeaten light-middleweight JJ Metcalf has warned Jorge Fortea he has plenty of pent-up aggression to draw on when the pair clash for a WBC ranking title on Tyson Fury’s undercard.

Metcalf recorded three consecutive stoppages in 2017 and has since been avoided with a string of pull-outs, delays and botched purse bids.

Now, the Liverpudlian is looking to put eight months of inactivity to one side and blast his way into the world title reckoning against Spain’s Fortea (16-1-1-KO5) at Manchester Arena on June 9.

Metcalf said: “There’s lots of frustration there because there have been a lot of setbacks but now I’m going to be let off the leash on a big card and I’m so grateful to MTK Global and Frank Warren for that.

“I can’t wait to get in there. I feel like I’ve been ready for a while. Being out for a few months, there might be some ring rust but I’m pretty confident you’ll get the best version of me yet.

“Once I’ve got this job done – which I plan to do in good fashion – I’ll keep on improving as I fight more regularly.

“I was watching Fortea on Box Nation the other day. He’s decent. He’s a good mover with fast hands but he carries them pretty low and sits on the ropes too much. That’ll be a dangerous place to be against me.”

Metcalf returns at the Manchester Arena on the Fury undercard – live on BT Sport – with ‘Big Sexy’ Sean Turner v Nathan Gorman and Troy Williamson v Jack Flatley other standout match-ups.

Lewis Benson is brimming with confidence ahead of a clash with fellow unbeaten super-lightweight Johnny Coyle on the Michael Conlan undercard in Belfast on June 30.

 

Benson brings a record of 10-0-KO2 to the table while Prizefighter champion Coyle is 18-0-1-KO2 going into an intriguing match-up between two MTK Global fighters.

Scotland’s Benson, however, believes the action will be one-sided.

Benson said: “I’m an out and out boxer. I don’t get beaten at my own game. He fancies himself as a boxer but I believe I’ll outbox him quite comfortably.

“We don’t know what title this is for yet but I’ve always had a map in my head when it comes to reaching my goals. My first goal is to win Commonwealth and British titles.

“This could be for an International title or it could be a British title eliminator. The winner certainly deserves a crack at a major title. It’s a really high class fight.

“The current Commonwealth champion Glenn Foot would be a perfect opponent for me. He came up to Scotland and beat one of the Scottish boys as well so there’s that aspect to it.

“Fighting Foot for his title would be great. He beat one of the Edinburgh boys and everyone knows what he did that night so revenge would be sweet.

“First though, my job is Coyle and I’m going to do it in style.”

Benson and Coyle are just two of a host of combatants looking to steal the thunder of former world amateur champion Conlan, who makes his hotly-anticipated return to his home city after several high-profile assignments Stateside.

A colossal SSE Arena card also features an all-Dublin rematch between world-ranked super-featherweight Jono Carroll and Declan Geraghty plus Tyrone McKenna v Phil Sutcliffe Jr, Tyrone McCullagh v Joe Ham, Paddy Gallagher v Gary Corcoran and more.

Birmingham super bantamweight,  Sean ‘Showtime’ Davis, is looking forward to his ring return writes Ben Gibson.

Davis - 13-2 - is set to fight on BCB Promotions Emerging Stars card on Saturday, 9th June.

The Brummie boxer has been in a number of high profile bouts, including fights for the WBC International Super Bantamweight Title and BBBofC British Super Bantamweight Title, and is looking forward to stepping back in the squared circle.

“I am feeling great and I am back in the best shape possible,” he told . “It has been a long time since my last fight and I am really happy to get back in the ring.

 “Everyone that knows me will tell you that I work really hard and nothing has changed there.

“The work rate for me has always been very high but I have seemed to have found a new level of fitness.”

Davis made the difficult decision to move trainers from Peter Christie to Shaun Cogan earlier this year. It was a tough call to make for the likeable 26 year-old, having been with Christie since childhood. However, he is enjoying life under his new Mentor and is looking forward to showing a different side to his game when he returns to the ring next weekend.

“I feel like I am progressing in every session with my new trainer Shaun Cogan and he is really pushing me along with new fight tactics and ring craft,” he added. “I am punching a lot harder than I use to and it is continuing right through the sessions and all the way through the rounds when on the pads.

“Shaun has me working on sitting on my shots a bit more and focusing on placing my opponent where I want them with my footwork.

“I had been with Pete for 15 years and have nothing bad at all to say about him.

“He is like a second father to me and has trained me from nothing up to major title contention.

“When I lost the British Title shot I was going to pack it all in and I didn’t know whether I loved the sport anymore.

“After I took a good break, I realised I did love it but if I did go back I would like to try another trainer just to see if I can get a different input or angle on it.

“Shaun’s style is different to Pete’s so having known Shaun since I turned pro I knew he could make the changes I wanted.

“I want to take it fight by fight and keep winning and be back in the running for big titles as soon as I can.

“I know that I give everything possible in and out of the gym in the build-up to my fight and do everything I could ask of myself so when fight time comes I am fit and ready for anything.”

The Emerging Stars bill will be topped by a 10-round battle for the English bantamweight title between Kyle Williams and defending champion Thomas Essomba.