COLIN KENNA is planning to take out the frustrations of an injury-wrecked past year in the ring of Southampton Guildhall tomorrow evening.

The Lordshill heavyweight boxer is making his return to professional action after nine months out following two operations to heal an injured elbow.

The 27-year-old says he feels better than ever and believes the surgery will give him extra punching power in his right hand when he squares up against Brixton's 'Big Red' O'Neil Murray.

"It has been very frustrating. I couldn't spar and train properly for a long time, so I will be taking out my aggression on Big Red's head," promised Kenna.

"Originally I had hoped to fight in September, but the operation went wrong and it set me back. In the end it was just before Christmas when they were able to fit me in.

"But all it has done is made me more hungry and focussed than ever."

Kenna is delighted with the way his elbow has recovered, admitting that it is an injury which he had carried through much of his professional career.

He said: "It feels like new. I've had two operations and it is back to normal now. I've been doing a lot of sparring and I've felt no reaction at all.

"It had been there for a couple of years. I just got on with it before and thought it would be ok.

"It was possibly holding me back though. Now that it has healed I am able to hit a lot harder."

Kenna is topping an exciting six-fight bill beginning tomorrow at 4pm.

His last professional outing was against English champion Mark Krence last May, when he was holding his own before the elbow problem forced him out of the fight.

He added: "It was going well against Krence but there was nothing I could really do about it.

"I would like to get a rematch with him. I am more than confident I could beat him. I thought I had the better of it before and I only had one hand for two rounds.

"But it's just good to be back and I want to be active this year. After tomorrow I've got another fight in two weeks' time in Dublin, back where I used to box as an amateur."

Kenna's opponent tomorrow, Jamaican-born Murray, is best known to Southampton fight fans for a one-round knockout of Joe Brame on his only other professional visit to the city.

He has, though, been fairly inactive in recent years and has only fought once since April 2003.

Kenna's manager Jack Bishop said: "Colin is looking very good and I even had to tell him to ease down in training. The operation has done him the world of good."