Shropshire boxer Shaun Walton is to appear on the undercard of Amir Khan’s next contest in a fight that could propel him into the sport’s fast lane.
The super featherweight from Randlay in Telford has been lined up as the opponent for former ABA champion Steven Smith in his first professional bout.
Smith has turned pro after narrowly missing out on selection for the Great Briain Olympic squad and is tipped to carve out a big career.
He comes with family pedigree as elder brother Paul is trained by the father of Floyd Mayweather after featuring prominently in the American series of The Contender.
Smith jnr is signed up to Frank Warren and will meet 33-year-old Walton at the NIA on Saturday, June 21 ahead of Khan’s meeting with former British super featherweight champion Michael Gomez.
“It would be a massive upset if I beat him but it could open up a lot of doors for me if I did it,” said 5ft 10ins Walton, who has an unspectacular record of four wins, three draws and 32 career defeats as a pro.
“I’ve taken a lot of my fights at short notice but I’ve had six or seven weeks’ notice to prepare for this one and I’ve had plenty of sparring and so on.
“It’s just on the night now and, with a bit of luck, things will fall into place and I can beat him.
“It will be a good pay day and it will be in front of a lot of people in the know at ringside.
“If I could pull off a win then it could be massive for me.”
* Tickets are available through Warren’s Sports Network.
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