THE significance of Joe Hughes’ IBO international light-welterweight title defence next month has intensified immeasurably after he was finally sanctioned for a shot at the English belt.

The 24-year-old Malmesbury fighter is set to defend his international strap against Georgian Mikheil Avakyan at the Bath Pavilion on Saturday, June 13, and should he come through that contest unscathed, Hughes has been pencilled in to challenge current holder Tommy Martin for the English title.

Unbeaten Martin, 21, beat Ricky Boylan, a fellow Matchroom Sport boxer, to get his hands on the English belt back in January and purse bids for a clash with Wiltshire’s Hughes are due in by June 10, with the contest to take place by the end of September.

“Obviously, I’m going to be defending my IBO title but this has just added to my motivation even more,” said Hughes (11-1), who had been striving for a crack at national glory for months on end.

“Like I’ve said before, I’ve been knocking on the door for such a long time. I was just going to keep doing what I was doing and now I’ve got this carrot, which I’ll get if I win in Bath.

“Tommy Martin is a good kid. He’s skilful and he’s tough. He knows what he’s doing and he beat Ricky Boylan, who’s another good kid. But I need to make sure that I win in Bath because I won’t get this fight if that doesn’t happen. I’ve wanted this for a long time.”

Hughes’ 23-year-old June opponent Avakyan, a veteran of 52 contests (29-19-4), fought in the United Kingdom in March last year when he took on WBC world lightweight title challenger Kevin Mitchell in Liverpool but he was finished midway through the second round.