GREENOCK boxer Sam Ball is preparing for the fight of his life after being confirmed on the bill for Ricky Burns’ world title showdown in Glasgow later this month.

The undefeated 20-year-old will compete at the SSE Hydro on Saturday May 28 when Coatbridge fighter Burns bids to become a three-weight champion.

An opponent has yet to be named for highly-rated Greenock welterweight Sam but he doesn’t care and is relishing the opportunity to box at the 13,000 capacity Glasgow venue and in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Sam says it is undoubtedly the biggest bout of his life and one he didn’t expect at such an early stage in his career.

He told the Tele: “I’d been told they were going to try and get me on the show but they weren’t sure what was going to happen because (promoters) Matchroom had the Anthony Joshua fight coming up.

“When I got the phone call to confirm I was on it I was buzzing. It’s the first professional show in the Hydro, it’s a big Sky Sports show and it’s a huge bill.

“Tickets are going really quickly. I’m hoping for about 200-300 to come and watch from Inverclyde.

“This is definitely the biggest show I’ve been involved in. It’s one of the biggest shows in Scotland for a long while.

“It makes you want to train harder and makes you want to win even more and fight better to put on a good performance for the crowd and get them on your side as well.

“There’s not many boys my age that could go in and put themselves in front of a crowd like that — it’s a big thing to ask of someone my age.

“It’s a confidence building thing. This is something that sets you up to take your career to different places.

“My coaches are confident in me, I’m confident and so are my promoters.

“Ricky Burns is an inspiration. He’s been on the world stage for quite a long time now and is someone to look up to and you want to box in front of him as 
well because people like him don’t get a chance to see the up and comers because he’s based in London.”

The Greenock Amateur Boxing Club  star warmed up with a victory at a St Andrew’s Sporting Club night in Glasgow city centre on Thursday where he beat Latvian Zaurs Sadihovs on points.

It put an end to months of misery after injury ruled him out of events, including a hometown show in Greenock Town Hall in November — the place where he made his professional debut 12 months ago.

Sam’s victory last week — his first since beating Bulgarian Teodor Stefanov on a Barry McGuigan show in Edinburgh in October — was his fifth in a row to maintain his flawless pro record.

Ball, who mixes training with working at Ferguson’s in Port Glasgow, said: “I was injured. I was supposed to fight in March but I had a groin strain and a hip injury. I was out for a while. It was one thing after another and it’s hard when someone tells you you can’t train. Everything is going well now.”

The Greenock boxer is on the lookout for a sponsor. For more information and for tickets to see him fight at the Hydro phone 07943 114457.