Tom Doran’s fight later this month can be a ‘stepping stone to bigger chances’ for him, according to manager Dave Coldwell.
Doran gave his career a new lease of life when he won the Prizefighter tournament at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool four months ago.
His performance pushed him up the domestic middleweight rankings and the 27-year-old believes he has what it takes to win the British title.
Doran makes his first appearance in the ring since Prizefighter at the ECHO Arena in Liverpool on June 26, with his opponent to be confirmed.
With the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, Chris Eubank Jr and Martin Murray targeting world titles, Coldwell reckons the Connah’s Quay fighter can mix it with the best of the rest on the domestic scene – including current British champion Nick Blackwell.
“Tom is a determined kid who just wants to fight and make a big impression every time he gets in the ring,” said Coldwell, pictured inset.
“He’s unbeaten, he can fight, and now he’s had some serious exposure, things are falling into place for him. So now we have to capitalise on the right fights against those who are ahead of him in the rankings.
“There are a few world-class fighters at middleweight but just below them is a group of guys all hungry to reach that next level.
“Tom is one of them and his fight this month can be a stepping stone to bigger chances and we’ll look to deliver them straight after this fight.”
LOOK: Tom Doran wins Prizefighter contest at Blackpool's Winter Gardens this year
Doran was in career-best form at Prizefighter where he defeated Craig Cunningham, Luke Keeler and Cello Renda to land the trophy and £32,000 prize, along with a £2,000 knock-out bonus.
Coldwell believes Doran, who has been sparring with big-hitting super-middle-weight Rocky Fielding, will be more than ready if and when a title shot arrives.
“Tom is one of our brightest young hopes at Coldwell Boxing and he’s one that boxing fans should definitely keep an eye on,” said the Rotherham-based promoter, who trains world title hope Tony Bellew.
“The Prizefighter victory was a shock to a lot of people but not to me as I knew how bad he wanted it, but I didn’t believe he’d do it in such a dominant manner because of the amount of time he’d been out of the ring and because he was quite inexperienced.
“I believed that a few things had to go right for us on the night but Tom was in the right mood from the outset and he didn’t look back once he got going.”
