SWINDON BOXER Ryan Martin knows controlling his emotions will be key as he prepares to headline the Kings of the Ring show in front of his home fans at the MECA on Saturday.

The fighter, who is trained by Paddy Fitzpatrick, is taking on Edvinas Puplauskas as he looks to bounce back from a disappointing 2017 in which he lost two title fights at Continental and World youth level.

Since suffering those crushing losses, Martin has had victories over Victor Edagha and Daniel Bazo and says while he has learned a lot from his two defeats, he is now fully focused on taking his chance this time around.

He said: “Fighters always say this, but I genuinely have had a really good camp, good variety of sparring and my weight has come down nicely so I’m in a good place.

“It’s a mixture of pride and anxiety really.

"I’m proud that people want to watch me fight and there are some quality boxers in this show, so it’s a proud moment for me to headline it.

“I’ve done it once at the MECA before, so it will be a slightly familiar feeling, but this show is massive so it’s those feelings scaled up.

“I could take a million and one lessons into this fight.

"We’ve always said that you don’t learn anything about yourself from within your comfort zone and when everything is going great.

“It takes a little bit of adversity to highlight some things about yourself and I’ve learned a lot.

“For me, boxing is 100% mental.

"All the skill, the hard training and the fitness counts for nothing unless you can get it right mentally on the night. I can’t switch off.”

A win on Saturday would improve Martin’s record to 11-2 and the young boxer feels he has hugely developed since turning pro.

Puplauskas possesses a 5-20 record, however four of his victories have come by knockout.

Martin said: “I’m a patient fighter but anyone who has been in the ring with me knows I can make people pay.

"I can punch, I’m fast and I can be aggressive, but I feel like I’ve matured in the pro game.”