TROY WILLIAMSON is confident he made the right decision to leave Great Britain’s amateur boxing squad – and the Darlington fighter is hoping to win a British title within the next two years to prove it.

Having made a winning start to life in the paid ranks when he knocked out Borislav Zankov in Edinburgh last month, the 25-year-old middleweight returns to the ring at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre tomorrow night as part of the ‘Homecoming’ promotion.

Williamson was one of the leading lights in Britain’s amateur boxing programme, winning the English Championships in 2015 and also making the semi-finals of last year’s World Series Boxing, but he missed out on a place in this year’s Olympics when the British selectors opted for Anthony Fowler instead.

The snub prompted the North-Easterner to turn professional rather than wait for the next Olympics in Tokyo, and as he prepares to take another important step on his development, he is hoping the next couple of years justify his career choice.

“I missed out on Olympic qualification, I didn’t even get chosen to go to the qualification events,” said Williamson. “Anthony Fowler went and qualified at the first event so it was either stay amateur for another four years or turn professional.

“I chose to turn professional because I thought it was the right decision. If I didn’t get the nod it was always in my head that I was going to turn pro.

“I’ve got a six-fight contract in the first 12 months, so I’ll hopefully win all them in good fashion and push on from there – hopefully get an English title at first and push on for the British within 18 months or two years.”

The likes of Anthony Joshua, James DeGale and David Price have all made a successful transition from the amateur ranks in recent years, and while North-East duo Tony Jeffries and Bradley Saunders were unable to quite live up to their billing on the professional stage, Williamson is confident he can handle the change of tack.

The middleweight felt constrained by the technical nature of the amateur game, and expects his hard-hitting style to be better suited to the professional arena.

“I’m not trying to slag anyone off, but I think they (amateur coaches) try to change your style a little bit to keep you in the centre of the ring,” he said. “They want you to take it on the gloves and reply.

“Some people aren’t all for that - they’re movers and they like to fight. Not everybody’s a boxer. I’m an exciting fighter - if I need to box I can box, if I need to fight I can fight.”

Tomorrow’s bill also features Sedgfield’s Jeff Saunders, Ferryhill’s Kyle Redfearn, Hartlepool’s Richard O’Neill and Darlington’s Neil Hepper, who will be continuing the comeback that started at St James’ Park in September.