Bobby Vanzie can forget all about the Christmas trimmings after agreeing to defend his Commonwealth lightweight title early in the New Year.

The 26-year-old Bradford boxer will take on South African champion Martin Jacobs at Manchester on January 13.

And within hours of hearing about his next fight he got his preparations underway with a training run.

"There will be none of the Christmas treats for me," he said.

"I am going to have to get down to some hard work to ensure I am in the right condition for the fight.

"Perhaps if I am good I might have a couple of slices of turkey."

Jacobs has a respectable record of 16 wins and two draws in a 21-fight career and is known to have an aggressive style.

One of his reverses was a two-round stoppage at the hands of Athanus Nzau - the boxer Vanzie beat in ten rounds to claim the Com-monwealth title in May, 1999.

Vanzie is delighted that the fight will be staged on a Saturday night.

"I hope it means I will get good support," he said.

"Many of my recent fights have been on Mondays and a lot of people have found it impossible to travel from Bradford."