Tommy Collins will be playing the long game when he steps up to six rounds for the first time.
His next move will come when BCB Promotions are back at the Venue in Dudley, for the first time since July 2019, as part of a Friday fight night on March 4.
He will be 4-0 going to battle, with a flawless quartet of points victories, all landslides by a 40-36 whitewash, but none at his desired calling of lightweight.
Collins most recently tackled Vitalii Maksymiv at welterweight, on a BCB bill at the H Suite in his home city of Birmingham. The 23-year-old is from Northfield.
His pro debut in 2019, when he vanquished Paul Ducie, before he returned to the Holte Suite at Aston Villa Football Club to thwart MJ Hall in 2020.
He made it a hat-trick of pro successes in 2021, when he defeated Clayton Bricknell in the car park at a rain-sodden Sheffield Arena, so his Dudley date will be more straight-forward.
A stop-start pro run is offset by Collins’ amateur experience, under Tom Chaney at Hall Green Boxing Club, with 66 wins from 76 bouts. His dad, Dean, now coaches him.
He won 17 area titles in national competition and was a national finalist in the 2016 England Youth tournament, also representing his country at youth level.
‘Tommy Gun’ has also participated in top-class sparring, too, travelling to Wales to enter the training ring with former world champion Lee Selby.
Collins said: “I’ve learned loads from Lee. I’ve sparred him quite a lot, even since before the pandemic. You can see why he’s at the top level and has been so successful.
“He’s fantastic. As an opponent, you set traps for him, but he’s already calculated it and laid one in wait. It’s like a chess match with him.
“I can plan a fight in my head and I don’t have to go out there like a bull in a china shop. Ask anyone on the circuit, my fitness and work-rate are second-to-none.
“But it’s all well and good showing that behind-closed-doors, it’s about getting six rounds under my belt and the whole camp has been geared towards that. This is a step up for me.
“I had a long amateur career, so I know my craft, but I need the experience of longer distances now. I want to be looking at titles, by the end of the year.
“I’ve been in with some durable lads, all as tough as old boots, and my last one was no different. He was a Ukrainian guy, who came in at late notice, and I knew nothing about him.
“I put it on him and I was landing some shots thinking ‘he will go from that’ and he just kept on coming. I could have hit him with a cricket bat!
“But a lot of people told me that I put on a mature performance. I set a high pace, boxed him at range and worked off the jab. That’s what I wanted to put across.
“I feel like I haven’t had the chance to show my power yet. When I box for a title, at my weight, that’s when I think the stoppages will come.”
Tickets for the Venue bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
