GAVIN Gwynne has no intention of returning from his showdown with Sean McComb empty-handed, as the Welshman bids to make it third time lucky after two title fight defeats in the last 18 months.

Gwynne and Belfast southpaw McComb's meeting for the vacant Commonwealth lightweight crown headlines the MTK Fight Night show at the University of Bolton Stadium next Friday.

The duo had been set to scrap in Dubai on February 6, but that fell by the wayside when the ban on flights from the UAE to the UK was introduced eight days before the planned MTK Global event.

For 30-year-old Gwynne (12-2), who is trained by Tony Borg at Newport's St Joseph's gym, the clash with unbeaten McComb (11-0) gives him the chance to start a new chapter in his boxing story.

After beating Henry Janes to claim the Welsh title, Gwynne fought gamely before losing on points to former stablemate Joe Cordina, the then British and Commonwealth champion, in August 2019.

With Cordina having vacated, Gwynne faced James Tennyson for the Lonsdale Belt at the Matchroom Fight Camp last August, with the Northern Irishman recording a sixth-round stoppage.

Despite those defeats, Gwynne took plenty of positives from the two high-profile bouts, however, he does not want to make it three big-stage losses on the bounce.

"Everything has been spot on in this training camp, it's been unbelievable," he said.

"We had six or seven weeks to get ready for Tennyson, but I spent most of that time losing weight.

"I'd piled on loads of weight through lockdown and I was killing myself to make the weight.

James Tennyson v Gavin Gwynne. Picture By Mark Robinson/Matchroom

James Tennyson v Gavin Gwynne. Picture By Mark Robinson/Matchroom

"We struggled for sparring before the Tennyson fight and didn't do many rounds, but for this camp I've been sparring three times a week, every week, for about 12 weeks.

"This is going to be third time lucky, but it's not really going to be down to luck, it's down to hard graft. I'm not getting beaten this time.

"I want titles, as many titles as possible, and when I win this Commonwealth title I can push on and maybe fight for a bigger title down the line."

Having the opportunity to fight for another title during the Covid-19 pandemic, when so many of his fellow Welsh professionals have been out of action, isn't something that's lost on Gwynne.

However, getting the encounter with 28-year-old McComb on has been far from plain sailing.

"They've been trying to get this fight on for a long time," he added. "Chris (Sanigar, manager) told me about it a while ago and we were hoping for it just before Christmas.

"It was going to be on an MTK show last month and I trained really hard over Christmas – I only had Christmas Day off – but then we heard shows in the UK in January were called off.

"I could have gone off the boil, but I spoke with Tony and he said I wouldn't have to wait much longer.

"I had a day off my diet and got straight back to it after that, and then we had the new date of February 6 in Dubai.

"That show was called off because of the travel restrictions, then MTK announced the show was going to be in Bolton on February 19.

"I can't wait for it to actually go ahead after all the disruptions."

The show will be broadcast live worldwide on iFL TV and in the US on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank.