GREENOCK boxer Frankie Monkhouse has been pushing himself against two champions and a Prizefighter contender to make sure he is in peak condition ahead of his next big fight tonight.

The 29-year-old, who is from Greenock’s east end, is scheduled to fight Slovakian Lubos Priehradnik later at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, in what will be his sixth professional contest.

London-based Frankie has stepped up his training to make sure he is in the best condition and has been sparring with experienced fighters like Southern Area champion Danny Connor, Prizefighter semi-finalist Eren Arif and British Masters champion Francis Maina.

He also jetted out to Alicante at the start of the year for a Spanish training camp with his team. While he admits it has been difficult, the 29-year-old says his gruelling regime brings bags of confidence with it heading into the fight.

He said: “It’s been tough but on the night I can sit in the changing room confident as I didn’t cut corners and am in the best shape possible.

“I finished this week with 16 rounds of sparring with Danny Connor and that’s me finished.

“The hard work is done, I’m not going to get any fitter.” Despite the Slovakian’s poor record on paper, Frankie says he is no slouch and still expects a tough bout against an experienced competitor — but he knows he is a better boxer. He said: “I have watched a bit of Priehradnik already and he’s a real game fighter. I am expecting a real tough night.

“I’m a better boxer than he is, though, and will be looking to keep it long and break him down as he marches forward.

“Each of my sparring partners have a different style so I’m well prepared for whatever Priehradnik brings.

“He boxed for a title in his last outing just before Christmas and went the distance, so beating him will propel me right up the rankings and show that I belong in that sort of company.

“He has three early KOs on his record already and will no doubt be looking to take me out but I’ve trained hard and am confident of continuing my winning run.” The Greenock man will also be spurred on by another huge Inverclyde support.

He added: “As usual there’s a large number of supporters travelling down from Greenock to back me and I want to give them something to cheer about. My support has been incredible so far and is growing all the time.

“A career in sport is a short one though so we are making the most of it while it lasts.” l Frankie would like to thank his sponsor, the sports betting community OLBG.COM