By Peter Man

The Phones4u Arena in Manchester is readying itself for an epic clash of heavyweight proportions.

Come the night of 26 July, British Boxing takes centre stage as Dereck Chisora 20-4 (13 KOs) and unbeaten Tyson Fury 22-0 (16 KOs) collide in a WBA World Heavyweight eliminator as well as contesting the EBU (European), WBO International and vacant British Heavyweight straps – its set to be some night.

The undercard for a title fight of epic proportions not only contains the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, Liam Smith and Liam Walsh, but the recently crowned, unbeaten, Sedgefield hitter, WBO Intercontinental champion Bradley Saunders 10-0 (8 KOs). The light welterweight, who blasted Ville Piispanen in just 81 seconds of his last outing for the quickest victory of his career to date, is ready for European and hopefully World glory.

"I’m presently twelfth in the WBO rankings and there are lots of fighters in there that I can beat, whether at home or abroad,” began Saunders.

“For me, as I’m in the best years of my life, I have to go for that European and then World titles which I do believe I can win. I’ve a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities, especially after recent successes and that has me knocking on and opening up a few more doors for me.”

With immense support of both family and sponsors as well as the esteemed Warren camp Saunders knows that he can concentrate on the job at hand and then comfortably move on to the next without cause for concern. Now he is looking at the bigger picture, more so his being in the shape, and form, of his life.

With the outing in Manchester to come, against a yet to be named opponent, the Sedgefield fighter is looking to propel himself beyond his already number 12 WBO World ranking before taking a well deserved holiday with his partner of 14 years, Stephanie, and the rest of the family, before blasting back, recharged, come September/October time.

“My sponsors David and Lynn Evans of ESRG Group in Hertfordshire, CBL Cable Contractors in Hartlepool, and Andrew Agarth at webuyanyhouse.com have been a massive support to me in building a career,” Saunders continued.

“With those, my mother Tracey, and partner Stephanie, I feel I have it all in place to succeed at the highest level. I’m training doubly hard for this bout which means that, with the confidence I have, I can push on.

“As for that British title, I can easily come back to it at a later stage if needs be in a couple of years time because, even though I’ve been saying I want it now, it is something I’d still like to have.”

Ticket sales for the Frank Warren show in Manchester are going better than ever and are available from Tracey Saunders on 07861226986.