Gary Cornish, the undefeated heavyweight from Inverness, will feature on the undercard of European champion Dereck Chisora's title defence against Ondrej Paia of the Czech Republic at the Copper Box Arena on November 30, as a reward for assisting the Londoner with his preparations.
But Cornish's manager, Tommy Gilmour believes the 26-year-old may derive greater benefit from a week spent working with Chisora as he edges closer to a an historic British title shot.
"Gary is gaining invaluable experience sparring with a boxer of Chisora's calibre by getting a taste of what it requires to be successful at the next level after being nursed along to an extent, said Gilmour.
"Despite that, he has been one of the busiest heavyweights in the world and it's now time to let him off the hook. He will box for a title early in the New Year, towards the end of February. That will put him in a strong position to challenge for bigger things, but I am not saying at the moment what it is."
No Scottish heavyweight has won a Lonsdale Belt, but Cornish clearly has the potential to make history, in Gilmour's opinion. With Chisora competing at European level and doubts continuing to surround the future of former British and Commonwealth champion David Price following back-to-back defeats by Tony Thompson, there is increased speculation that Cornish could step into the breach.
The Paisley light-middleweight Kris Carslaw will have a chance to re-establish himself as a European title contender this weekend. The 29-year-old former kick-box champion lost to Frenchman Michel Soro on points when he boxed for the vacant crown at short notice in January. But an impressive performance against Damian Jonak in a non-title 10-round bout in Poland on Saturday will propel Carslaw back up the ratings.
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