TARIQ Quaddus is looking to make 2015 an even better year than the last after ending 2014 with his first title.

The Swindon-based light-heavyweight claimed the British Masters Bronze title with a career-best performance over Sam Couzens.

As the southpaw prepares to face Mark Till, in a non-title six-round contest, on the World Awaits show at the Oasis Leisure Centre on Friday, February 13, the 24-year-old knows that he cannot rest on his laurels.

The win over Couzens has lifted the former England international to 12th in the British ranking on BoxRec and Quaddus is keen to get his shot at a Southern Area title or possibly an English crown by the end of the year.

“(To improve on the Couzens win) you have to put in a performance like the last one against someone even better,” the Richard Farnan-trained boxer said.

“So when we do step it up a level you have got to keep on performing like that that only if I train really hard.

“The main thing is rather than scrapping a win, I’m going to have to win emphatically like I did in December against Couzens.

“I’m going to have to keep winning like that in order to get title shots that I’m looking for.

“We are going to step it up a level - we want to be fighting for the Southern Area title, maybe even the English title by the end of the year.

“(To do that we need to be) taking the right fights at the right time, but also if I train hard and train smart with the right sparring.”

Having only taken a few days off over Christmas to spend time with his young family back in Peterborough, Quaddus, who floored Couzens in the second round en route to an emphatic points success, believes that getting the full eight rounds in December did him the world of good.

“That fight could have been stopped in the second round, a lot of referees would have stopped it – I have been told,” he said.

“But the fact I got an extra six hard rounds at a good pace under my belt in means it was more beneficial to me.

“It means that I don’t have to have another eight round fight. I know that I can do eight rounds at a fast pace and, with little bit more tweaking in the gym in my training I will be doing 10 rounds at that pace and it will be quite hard to beat me.”