By Matt Bevan

Adam Etches will be hoping to put a frustrating 2016 firmly behind him when he returns to the ring on February 4 at the Kensington Olympia in London, as part of ITV’s Box Office card headlined by Chris Eubank Jr’s challenge for the IBO super-middleweight title against Renold Quinlan.

‘The Bomber’ (20-1, 17KOs), will take on John Ryder for the vacant IBF International super-middleweight belt, in what will be both fighters’ first official foray at 168lbs, having both campaigned at middleweight for the whole of their careers previously.

But the 25-year-old from Sheffield is hoping a win over ‘The Gorilla’ will spur him on towards a future world title fight and says 2017 will be the year he gets back on track after a difficult couple of years.

Etches told Boxing Scene: “I’m excited to be back and boxing on this new platform on ITV. Being up at super-middle will be a big help and I’m certainly strong enough to do some damage at the weight. I’m confident that my power will follow me up, as I fought around this weight in the amateurs and I was stopping everybody then.

“John Ryder is a good name and a tough test which is what I wanted. I regarded John as the best middleweight around British title level, but super-middle is new territory for both of us and I will be the stronger of the two of us and it will play into my hands.

“2016 was, simply put, a nightmare, although it hasn’t been great in terms of boxing the past couple of years. I only had one fight last year, so to have a date to work towards means 2017 is already better. I need to stay injury-free and active, so I’m convinced that 2017 will be my year.”

Etches will continue his link-up with the Ingle Gym in Wincobank, Sheffield where he trains alongside Kell Brook and Kid Galahad, who also features on the bill. He adds that since he started training with the world class pair he has already seen significant improvements.

He also claims that all the pressure will be on Ryder, who will be fighting in his hometown and the new platform ITV provide will be huge for the British boxing on the whole and allow new stars, himself included to develop.

“I’m with the Ingle’s now, training with Kell and Kid, which is good company to be working with,” Etches continued. “They drive me on and you learn loads even just by watching, so I know that I’m a better fighter. My ultimate goal is still to be a world champion, so when that isn’t achievable I’ll be done with boxing and training with them can only help me.

“There’s less pressure on me as John is at home, although it won’t matter when we’re in there because it will only be us two. We can both say what we want in the build-up, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to what happens on the night.

“With ITV now getting involved in boxing, it’s massive and I’m really excited to be a part of it. I’m particularly pleased for Richard Poxon, who has been a hugely important part of my career. With the deal more shows will be shown and good fighters who used to slip under the radar will now get more chances to show what they can do.

“I’m one of them and I can’t wait to show what I can really do.”