JOE HAM improved his winning record to 14-0 last weekend with his points win over Edwin Tellez in Glasgow and he is now ready to take the step up to the next level.

The Glaswegian is due to fight Northern Irishman Tyrone McCullagh sometime before the end of June in a British title eliminator , with the venue being announced earlier this week. And this is, says the 26-year-old, exactly the progression he needs in his career.

“This is massive for me,” he said. “It’s great that this fight is happening. I’m feeling good and I’m confident that I’ll batter him.

“A British title is one of the most prestigious titles out there and this is a step towards it.

“If I win this, I reckon I’d get a shot at a British title towards the end of the year. So it’s a case of winning this one and then moving onto a British title.”

Ham was impressive in his victory over Tellez in Glasgow’s Hydro Arena twelve days ago and while the super-bantamweight expected nothing less than a victory, he admits he was pleased with the manner of his win. “It was only a matter of time before I got this British eliminator fight so I used last weekend’s fight as more of a warm-up to be honest,” he said.

“I expect to beat these people but it’s the manner in which you do it. I didn’t take many punches - that was the most important thing. The big thing is that I’ve kept winning. I’ve not had any cuts and I’ve not had any injuries so everything has gone exactly to plan so far.

“I’ve only had 14 fights as a pro but I’ve done the 10 rounds before whereas he’s not - the most he’s ever done is five. That’s a psychological thing but it’s important.”

Ham had only a week off following his Glasgow victory and was back in camp on Monday to begin his preparation for the McCullagh fight. He will spend the next few weeks training in Glasgow before heading over to the lauded Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles, which is run by renowned trainer Freddie Roach.

This will be the third consecutive year that Ham and a few of his fellow fighters have travelled across the Atlantic and the Gorbals man is confident that it is exactly what he needs to get himself in the best shape possible for his British eliminator fight.

“I started back training earlier this week so my camp will be about eight to ten weeks so I’ll be in great shape,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to Wild Card - it’s one of the best gyms in the world and you’re mixing with some of the best talent so it’s a great place to be. And McCullagh is a southpaw so I’ll be going up against a lot of them to make sure I’m well used to fighting south paws by June.”

Ham may have a relatively limited professional career to date but he has made the transition seemingly effortlessly. To date, he has fought on the undercards of Ricky Burns and Josh Taylor but his ambition is to be headlining those shows himself one day. And that day, he believes, is not too far away. “Everybody always said that my style suited the pros more than the amateurs,” he said.

“The pro game is more technical, it’s not as much of a rush and I like that. And I know people like to watch me - I like to hurt people and as bad as that sounds but that’s what people want to see.

“Josh Taylor has done well but I feel like I’ve made the transition pretty well too. Josh is leading the way at the moment but I feel like after this fight, I’ll be not too far behind.

“I’d definitely like to be headlining shows too and it’s only a matter of time before that happens. Nothing happens overnight though, it all depends what fights get made but so far, I’ve fought in a lot of different venues and I’ve boxed against a lot of different styles so now, I’ve been presented with my opportunity.

“It’s sink or swim now so it’s time for me to go.”