SWINDON’S Sam ‘Sniper’ Smith says he wants to see out the year as a super-middleweight fighter and has no plans to shift between weight classes ahead of Fight Town 1 in April.

Smith is due to fight on the Mark Neilson and Paddy Fitzpatrick promoted event on April 27 against an as yet unnamed opponent and will be the fourth time the Reading-born fighter has competed in his adopted home.

The 26-year-old has won his previous three fights in Swindon, and with two of his past four fights ending in defeat, ‘Sniper’ will be looking to some home comforts to reignite his quest for a title.

Recalling the previous 12 months, the 6’3” fighter believes he has learned so much about controlling his weight as well as understanding how he can better go about executing a game plan during a bout, citing his loss against Kurt Garvey as a prime example.

Smith said: “I learned a lot about myself last year. I took a few risks with the Kurt Garvey fight, which was my first loss, back in March 2018.

“I did my first scheduled ten-rounder, but I got stopped in the seventh. It was a hard fight, I dropped him in the first and tried to finish him, gassed myself out and he ended up stopping me.

“Looking back at it now, I do think a lot differently, especially against (Shakan) Pitters in the Ultimate Boxxer, you just can’t give five pounds away like I did because it told on the night.

“Looking forward to this one – I’m not a massive puncher, but if it knockout comes, it comes.

“I just want to get behind my jab, and I want a clinical performance. After that, hopefully I’ll push on for a title fight.”

In spite of having only eight professional fights under his belt, Smith has already appeared in a TV bout when featuring on the Ultimate Boxxer prize-fighting show.

Despite losing the most recent of his broadcasted bouts, Smith said it would not stop him getting back into the ring on a televised event and argued that the experience had helped him become a better fighter as he looks to build a settled year at his desired weight.

He said: “The high-profile fights have definitely helped me now, especially getting the TV exposure – that has definitely helped.

“You don’t realise you’re on TV, but if I got the shout now for a title fight on television, I’d grab the chance.

“If it was a fight at light-heavyweight, I’d take it, but I’ve got my heart set on super-middleweight and I know I’ll be strong at that weight.

“I’m on a strength programme at the minute to help me out there and I’m looking forward to seeing this year through as a super-middleweight.”