James Hare and Dale Robinson are flying the flag for West Yorkshire boxing in Liverpool tonight.

The best buddies have suddenly been thrust into the role of standard bearers at the Everton Park Sports Centre.

Both were due to fight on the undercard of local hero David Burke but they have been shot up the order after his intended Commonwealth lightweight opponent James Armah failed to show from Ghana.

Hare's clash with Jamaica's Earl Foskin has been bumped up from eight rounds to a bill-topping second defence of the Commonwealth welterweight belt he won in April.

And with Burke unlikely to feature at all, flyweight Robinson will be chief support against another Caribbean opponent, Marc Dummett.

Hare, from Roberttown, is not fussed by the late switch which will, after all, enhance his profile on live TV.

He said: "We've been training to box on the show anyway and the opponent's still the same. We've been preparing for eight rounds and now it's 12 but the other guy is in the same boat as me.

"After all, we all know what can happen in boxing. You've got to play ball and get on with it.

"I would have been well within my rights to have kicked up a stink but there was no point. I don't want to get a reputation for stirring things up."

Hare does not intend to take it the distance anyway against Foskin, whose 13-1-1 record has been achieved entirely on home turf.

Hare added: "I don't know anything about him so I'll have a good look for the first couple of rounds. Then I'll try to take him apart.

"I'm looking for a middle-round stoppage ideally but I'm not going to panic if it goes the distance. As long as I do my best then I'm confident.

"Putting the belt on the line does concentrate my mind. I try to go into every fight, whatever it is, with the same attitude but being for the Commonwealth certainly gives it the edge."

Huddersfield's Robinson has been given orders to seek and destroy against Guyana's Dummett.

The unbeaten pocket rocket should notch up an 11th straight win - but with rivals Levi Pattison and Jason Booth having both claimed knock-outs recently, the pressure is on Robinson to do the same.