SOUTHAMPTON boxer Royston Barney-Smith revealed he is aiming to become Britain's youngest world champion as he looks to make a huge mark on the boxing scene.

The 19 year old will compete in just his eighth professional fight today when he scraps with Maicol Velazco at York Hall.

Barney-Smith, who is under the promotion of Frank Warren, wants to put on a show at one of his favourite boxing venues before becoming a world champion in the near future.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, he said: "I want to get this fight out of the way and put on a good performance.

"Then I want to start winning titles in the early part of 2024 and see where it goes from there. I’m looking to be Britain’s youngest world champion."

The super featherweight known as 'Sugar Boy Roy' had an extremely successful amateur career and he was looking to be a part of the Paris 2024 Olympic games before COVID-19 struck.

Due to amateur fights not taking place during that period, he set up a meeting with Queensberry promoter Frank Warren which convinced him to turn professional.

He continued: "I had my first fight at 11 and then I boxed in my first national championships as a 12 year old.

"The year after that I won gold and I also won the European Championships. Then in the next year, I did the same again.

"I had 37 fights for England, winning 36 of them. I only lost once representing my country.

"As soon as I spoke to Frank, he said ‘There is a possibility of you turning pro but you have to hold up your end of the bargain and produce the goods."

That is exactly what the 19 year old has done so far and he is a heavy favourite to continue his unbeaten record against Velazco.

The Colombian has won 10 of his 23 fights during his professional career and is not expected to be a problem for Barney-Smith.

"I am going in there with every intent to get Velazco out of there," Barney-Smith confidently states. "I don’t want to be reckless and take silly shots or do silly moves that I should not be doing.

"I want to get in there and put on a cool, calm, and collected performance. He is durable and he has a decent enough record.

"He hasn’t been stopped too many times. He doesn’t look to just get through the fight, he tries to stay in there and tries to win.

"That is the thing I like about fighters like this. When someone tries to push the action, that’s when I can land my shots. That is the type of boxer that I am."

A victory is likely to set the Englishman up for more challenging fights in 2024 as he looks to pursue a path that will hopefully end up in him becoming world champion.