TRAINER Mark Kent may be the man expected to stay cool, calm and collected in the corner of the ring but the Contender Gym chief admits that he still has to fight off the nerves every time one of his boxers is in action.

A posse of fighters based at the Trowbridge gym are set to step into the ring in front of their local crowd at the Civic Centre on Saturday January 31, including Melksham’s former English super-bantamweight title challenger Liam Richards, who returns to action following a sabbatical of almost three years.

Journeyman Dan Blackwell is set to take on experienced Telford man Kieron Gray whilst fellow Trowbridge fighter Liam Hodson will be making his professional debut at welterweight.

Frome southpaw super-featherweight Ryan Wheeler and middleweight Rob Brown, a British soldier, both made their debuts in Bristol last year and will be also fighting under the Contender Gym banner.

“I always get nervous watching any of my boys fight – I even feel it when I watch Dan Blackwell or Dan Carr even though they’ve both had a lot of fights,” said Kent.

“I’ve wanted to get the new guys out and get them busy, so they’ll all be fighting in Trowbridge.

“Liam Richards has been back in the gym for a while now actually. I think he stepped away to concentrate on his career but things have settled down for him now and he wants to get back out there.”

Plymouth’s Chris Adaway and two other guests also make up the eight-fight bill on January 31.

Tickets are available from the Contender Gym (01225 765712).

Meanwhile, despite the British Boxing Board of Control claiming that an ‘agreement’ had been reached for Nick Blackwell to renew hostilities with Billy Joe Saunders, a re-match remains unlikely.

Trowbridge middleweight ace Blackwell remains the mandatory challenger for Saunders’ British title and on Thursday, the board stated that a fight between the two was to take place on a Frank Warren-promoted show.

But former Olympic Games competitor Saunders, who is the number one contender to face WBO world champion Andy Lee, is still expected to vacate the Lonsdale belt, leaving 24-year-old ‘Bang Bang’ to look elsewhere for an opponent.

Blackwell’s Contender Gym trainer Mark Kent said: “I can’t say too much but something is being worked out.

“Nick’s next fight will be for the British, but it’s all about finding him an opponent.”