THE good thing about dreams is that you can modify them if they don't work out as originally planned.

At first, ensconced alongside his brother Kevin in the youth ranks of their beloved Dundee FC, Jamie Wilson aspired only to carve out a career in football. His hopes of emulating star turns such as Claudio Caniggia even got as far as gracing the hallowed Hampden turf at half time on Scottish Cup semi-final day. That was back in the days where a wee bit of boxing training was merely a way to keep himself in trim for those punishing runs from his right-back berth.

It soon transpired, though, that neither of the Wilson brothers would end up pursuing their ambitions in football. While Kevin now works as a tattoo artist in the city, it turns out Jamie wasn't half bad at this boxing lark either. Now aged 23 and on the occasion of only his sixth professional bout, this evening will see him battle it out with home favourite Anthony 'Babyface' Nelson in front of a packed Metro Radio Arena crowd in Newcastle for the Commonwealth Super Flyweight Championship.

A perfect storm, involving original headliner Bradley Saunders' withdrawal with injury and the fact his opponent hails from South Shields, has bumped him up to second billing on Eddie Hearn's televised Geordie Roar show. This puts him ahead of the other Scots in this invasion force, the latest outings for Commonwealth Gold medallist Charlie Flynn and Edinburgh cruiserweight Stephen Simmons, and just beneath Anthony Joshua MBE, the awesome young English heavyweight. No wonder the Dundonian still feels he has to pinch himself.

"It has been like a wee dream," said Wilson, who has won all five of his previous fights, stopping just one of his opponents, Craig Derbyshire last time out. This compares with English champion Nelson, who has won all nine of his fights, with just one stoppage. "Five fights, this will be my sixth. And to be performing on a show this size, with those names on it, it is just brilliant. It was not long after my last fight that Tommy [Gilmour, his manager] mentioned it to me. The first four were points wins but now I am starting to relax a bit more in the ring, the power is going to show a bit more.

"I would imagine it will be an imposing atmosphere but that won't worry me, I will feed off that more in a positive way than a negative way," he added. "I am confident I can come away with the win. This will be the biggest fight in both of our careers. It is definitely great to share a bill with Charlie Flynn, I remember watching his fights during the Commonwealth Games, and Anthony Joshua too. These are names I have only seen on TV so it will be great to be part of it."

Wilson might never have made a career in football, but in a sense football has been the making of him. It has given him the discipline to train ferociously, and scarcely touch a drop of alcohol. In his down time, the fighter also recently completed a qualification at Angus College in animal care, although his mum has decreed that for now he is not allowed any more pets in the house.

"I played with Dundee for seven years," recalled Wilson. "I actually only took the boxing up for the training, but people kept telling me I was good at it so I thought 'I am going to give this a go'. I always played football when I was young, and always supported Dundee, so that was what I wanted to be. My brother was the same - what a player he was. The head of development at the club was Gordon Wallace, and I played with Kyle Benedictus [currently on-loan at Petrofac finalists Alloa from Dundee] who got to a decent level. While I always fancied myself as a winger or a striker, they always had me at right back.

"But I have always been a massive boxing fan, I still follow it all the time," he added. "So I know all the names - even if a lot of people won't know mine, because I have just come from nowhere. In terms of current boxers I would say my hero is Manny Pacquiao but an all-time favourite would be Mike Tyson. The last big fight I was at was Ricky Burns against Terence Crawford in Glasgow.

"I have always been disciplined, always lived the life. I've never touched alcohol, I've always dedicated myself to sport, and I think that has helped. I have always been big on my fitness and whatever I have done I have always wanted to give it 100% and not look back with any regrets."

Gilmour recalls Paul Weir winning a world title in only his sixth bout, and sees no reason why his man, trained by former Scottish lightweight champion Chris McAdam, cannot have a similarly sudden emergence. "If he was a heavier weight then it would have taken much longer," said Gilmour. "But there aren't too many fly weights, super fly weights and bantams about so opportunities occur much quicker than they do at other weights.

"Anthony Nelson is 29 years of age, and has nine fights under his belt, while Jamie is 23 and has had five fights. So it isn't a huge gap in professional terms. There will be a big crowd when he comes out but I think that puts even more pressure on Anthony because he will be really keen to do well in front of his own crowd. Jamie has fought three of the same opponents Anthony has and they have all gone the distance. So while the other fellow must be a wee bit more of a favourite it is not an impossibility and don't be surprised if you wake up on Sunday morning and wee Jamie has won the title."