JACK Flatley will relish his underdog tag when he challenges for major honours next month.

Farnworth’s Quiet Storm will look to inflict a first defeat on JJ Metcalf and win the Liverpudlian’s Commonwealth super-welterweight title on October 10.

Metcalf, known as ‘Kid Shamrock’, has won all 21 of his fights with 13 victories coming by way of knockout.

The 32-year-old won the title by halting Jason Welborn in the eighth round of their meeting back in June 2019 and will be making his first defence.

He heads in as favourite with Flatley looking to prove he belongs among the very best domestically having won and then lost his English title in 2019, his defeat to Harry Scarff being the only blot on his 18-fight record.

The pair are no strangers to each other with Flatley working hard with trainer Alex Matvienko to make the most of his opportunity.

“I’ve sparred him a few times and they’ve always been competitive spars,” said the 25-year-old.

“He’s obviously a good fighter at this level and I’m probably going into the fight as the underdog.

“But I’m more than happy with that because the pressure will be off me. The pressure is all on Metcalf for this one.”

The fight will be behind closed doors at BT Sport studio in Stratford with the chance of fans returning to sports events in the near future seemingly being as remote as ever.

Flatley will head down to the capital for the Frank Warren show a few days beforehand and will be tested for Covid-19 before being cleared to fight.

For a fighter used to having a few hundred fans cheering him on at venues like the Bolton Whites Hotel, it could be a strange atmosphere. But Flatley believes it could work to his advantage.

“I’ve seen quite a bit of it (behind-closed-doors boxing) on TV and if anything I think it will be good for me because I don’t think there’s any added pressure,” he said.

“I think you’ll see the best of me in there. I’m good at picking out my coach’s voice in a crowd anyway but when there’s no crowd you can here everything they’re saying to you.

“I’ll be fully switched and I’m not treating it like a spar but it be a similar kind of setting to a spar.”