RYAN Martin says that he can already picture having the IBO Continental belt securely stowed away in the car for the journey home tomorrow night.

The 23-year-old faces former Midlands Area champion Craig Morris at the Leicester Arena for the vacant strap, with the fight also doubling up as an English welterweight title eliminator.

And since the news emerged last week that a belt would be on the line, former WBC Youth world title challenger Martin admits that it has added the gloss to what is expected to be his small screen debut, with the fight likely to be shown live on Five Spike.

“As soon as Paddy (Fitzpatrick, Martin’s trainer and manager) told me about it, all of sudden I could picture myself driving back to Swindon with the belt,” Martin told the Advertiser.

“That put a smile on my face. That is something definitely to be happy about that.

“To get a chance at another title just two fights on from the loss, I’m over the moon.”

Even though Martin blew away the cobwebs from his defeat to Michael McKinson in April for the WBC belt, he says that it was something that took time to get over.

“No one likes losing,” he said. “Even though I put a friendly brave face on it, I try not to say too much about it (the loss).

“Anyone losing in competitive sport knows that it eats them alive, and it has done with me.

“But I feel it has now had a positive effect. Paddy can see it in the gym and sparring - I’m more focused.

“The only fear that there is, is not to underperform again, which I haven’t been doing.

“I went out in my last fight (where he stopped Nikoloz Gvajava in the second round) with a lot of pressure on me and performed, I think, how I should have done.

“I now have to show that I can carry that through to the higher level.”

In the build-up to this fight, Fitzpatrick has warned Martin that he cannot afford to lose to Morris tomorrow if he wants to have more big fights in 2018 and that is something the former Walcot and England amateur agrees.

“I can’t lose, 100 per cent,” Martin said. “You lose one fight, you can write it off as I didn’t perform on the night, it wasn’t my night – it was a bad day at the office.

“But not twice, not in this game.

“Boxing is very unforgiving, and boxing fans see two losses on a record and all of a sudden, you are no good. That can’t happen.

“I can only win and that is all that I’m thinking about.”