JOE Hughes is adamant that his desire to beat Andy Keates and regain the English super-lightweight title this weekend is unquestionable.

After being stripped of his coveted St George’s crown as a result of losing to fellow Englishman Jack Catterall in May, the 26-year-old (14-2) has his chance to reclaim the now-vacant English strap on Saturday night when he takes on Midlands Area champion Andy Keates (12-4) at the Action Indoor Sports Centre in Bristol.

With Hughes losing his title outside of the ring – his clash with Catterall was for the WBO inter-continental strap – the Malmesbury man, who aspires to challenge for the British belt, could be forgiven for a lack of motivation as he goes back over old ground.

But Hughes insists that he remains as hungry for victory as ever as the 17th fight night of his professional career approaches.

“I’ve got no problem and not being up for it isn’t like me at all,” said the Wiltshire fighter.

“I’m really up for it, especially coming off a loss. Whenever you have a loss, you know that you’re going to have to retread your steps and it’s really important that you don’t have two losses in a row.

“If I lose on Saturday, then I’ll be out of the picture and miles away from where I want to be, which is fighting for the British title – it would take years to get back to there.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I feel fit and I feel sharp.”

Hughes’ opponent Keates, who hails from Leek, in Staffordshire, has twice unsuccessfully challenged for the English lightweight title and says that he has cooked up a game plan for Saturday night’s showdown.

The Malmesbury scrapper, who suffers from Erb’s palsy and as a result, favours his left arm, added: “He usually comes forward and is all-action but he says that he’s going to do things a bit differently this time.

“I’m sure that he’ll try and stay from my left but we’ll have to see if he does approach the fight differently.

“He’s a good kid and a tough opponent, and it should be a really good fight.”

Three of Hughes’ stablemates from Paddy John’s Gym in Bristol will also be in action on Saturday’s bill, which is being held as a pro-am show and will also feature as many as 14 amateur bouts.