SWINDON trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick expects plenty of thrills and spills when professional boxing returns to the town next month.

A throng of Fitzpatrick’s fighters will appear on the Neilson Boxing-promoted ‘Kings of the Ring’ show at the MECA on Saturday, December 8, headlined by homegrown talent Ryan Martin.

The show is the first in the town in more than a year, with the ‘No Repeat, No Surrender’ event planned by Fitzpatrick’s own Trifecta promotion group back in March having to be scrapped at short notice due to freak weather.

Ferndale Road-based Fitzpatrick says there is plenty of appetite for the sport in the town and is eager to give Swindon’s boxing fans an evening to savour.

“We’ve got some good fights are we’re really looking forward to it. It should be a great show,” said Fitzpatrick.

“The last show we were supposed to put on earlier this year, at 24 hours’ notice we had horrendous snow and the Board of Control cancelled it.

“It is great to put a show on again and I think the demand for boxing has been shown because I haven’t heard one whinge about tickets not shifting. The sales have been excellent, so we are happy.

“Interest in boxing has gradually picked up over the last few years. It has been a slow-burner, but it has got to a point to where boxing does have a good following in the town.”

Next month’s show marks the first collaboration between Fitzpatrick and Neilson Boxing.

The Irish trainer says a partnership between the two was the only logical option in order for the sport to thrive in the town and hopes it can lead to more events in the future.

“It has been good, and we needed to work together,” said Fitzpatrick.

“The reason we set up Trifecta was because we had tried to work together before, but we were banging heads and it just wasn’t working.

“I also think Chinese whispers does more damage sometimes than anything that has actually gone on, with people saying they are doing their thing while we are doing our thing. People were almost making it that we couldn’t work together.

“But the Neilsons are passionate about boxing and we got together, had a couple of conversations and managed to iron out a couple of the creases and come to an agreement that we were both happy with.

“We are going to do this one and hopefully another one in March next year, although that is not 100 per cent confirmed yet.

“We can do more for boxing in the town than we can working separately.”

Alongside Martin, Fitzpatrick stablemates Harry Webb, Bradley Townsend and Bec Connolly are all set to appear on the ‘Kings of the Ring’ show.