BOLTON’S Jack Cullen will face Reece Cartwright for the English middleweight title at the Bolton Whites Hotel on March 9.

Cullen is the mandatory opponent for Leeds champion Cartwright, who looks to defend his crown for the first time since beating Tyler Denny in Walsall last September.

Cullen's last fight saw him beat Tomas Bezvoda by technical knockout in front of a sell-out home crowd at the Bolton Whites Hotel on December 8, to take his professional record to 15 wins and one defeat.

Cartwright, who is a year younger than his Little Lever opponent at 24, has 22 wins and one defeat to his name.

Cullen admitted this would be his biggest test to date but is confident he has what it takes to win the belt.

“I’m number nine in the rankings and Reece is number seven, so it should be a good test," he said.

“I’d say this is my biggest fight, but I’m going to perform the best I’ve ever performed, and on the night you’ll all know how good I really am.

“I’ve just got to beat whoever is in front of me.”

And it’s not just the title Cullen has in mind as he looks to go on to bigger and better things.

“This is just the start of the ladder and obviously I’ve got to climb it, he said.

“I can go the top, I wouldn’t be in this game if I didn’t think I could.

“I believe I’ll be world champion one day.”

His trainer Tommy Battel, who has been by Cullen’s side since he was a teenager, shared the same opinion.

Battel said: “He’s going to be a world champion, and he’s got every asset in order to do that.

“I’m a big believer in self belief. He believes in himself and I believe in him too.

“These are just stepping stones on the path to where we want to go.

“And if we fail we’ll just pick ourselves back up and go again.”

On Cullen’s progression from amateur to pro, Battel said: “He’s made such big progression since he turned pro.

“He was a mechanical nightmare when he was 14.

“You wouldn’t believe what he was to where he is now.

“Everything’s coming together for him.

“The training side of things has improved, and people have started to come on board, who have all added to his overall training programme.

“He doesn’t have one-to-ones anymore, he has three-to-ones with all of his coaches.”

Both fighters will go into the fight with similar records and styles, but Battel said his focus was purely on Jack’s boxing ability.

“Jack’s 6ft 4, he’s got a unique frame, he’s fast and sharp and he’s uniquely strong for his size," the trainer said.

“We’ll treat Reece Cartwright like he’s anybody else. We’ll study him thoroughly and we’ll work on any possible flaws.”

Tickets have yet to go on sale.