FORMER Commonwealth flyweight champion Daren Fifield takes his first step on the comeback trail tonight.

A shot at British and Commonwealth title holder Damaen Kelly could lie at the end of it, but the Kennington fighter must first get past Sudbury's Mark Reynolds.

Fifield had planned to use tonight's contest in Peterborough as a warm-up before going straight into a fight with Kelly in Belfast on May 22.

But the British Boxing Board of Control this week refused to accept Fifield as a challenger for the Lonsdale Belt because of concern over his three-year absence from the ring.

Now Kelly will meet Scotland's Keith Knox next month instead, while Fifield will appear on the undercard.

"Daren will have to take a longer route to Kelly, but he's still in the frame," said a spokesman for Kelly's manager, Frank Maloney. "There aren't too many good little guys out there." Top of the bill tonight is the British super bantamweight title fight between Patrick Mullings and Drew Docherty which is being shown live on Sky Sports.

ABINGDON Boxing Club's Jake Guntert is set to win his first England vest after getting the call of his country last night.

Fifteen-year-old Jake, from Jeffrey Barber Road in Abingdon, recently won through to the final of the 71kg class in the national schoolboy championships in Barnsley, where he lost to the much more experienced Daniel Teasdale.

And on the strength of that gritty performance, he has been named in a Young England team to face Russia at the Hilton Hotel in London on May 10.

Story date: Saturday 24 April

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