British super-middleweight Callum Smith has admitted that he cannot wait to get back into the ring after six months out with an injured hand.
The Liverpudlian star, who has seven knockouts from his first nine fights, is one of the brightest prospects in British boxing.
He takes on Francois Bastient in Manchester tonight ahead of a defence of his WBC international title next month and is looking forward to being busy again.
"I am really eager to get back in the ring," Smith told reporters. "I was very active in my first year as a pro, so that made the six months I have been out feel like a lot longer.
"It has been frustrating. I think the rest did me good, but I didn't want to have six months out.
"I have only started to punch properly [in the last few weeks]. It has been frustrating because the main thing you want to do is punch, but I worked hard on other things and I'm feeling the benefits of those now."
Smith's last outing was a sixth-round stoppage of Ruben Eduardo Acosta back in October.
