A BRADFORD boxer is gearing up for a big northern fight next weekend, but he is setting his sights much higher in the coming months, having sparred with some of Britain's best boxers.

Zeeshan Khan will be taking on Artif Ali for the the super-featherweight Central Area title at King George's Hall in Blackburn on Saturday, November 2, in what promises to be a tough fight against a boxer with an impressive winning record.

But Khan is keen to go beyond that in the coming months, saying that he hopes to fight for an English title at featherweight, with his ideal venue being in Bradford.

Speaking to the T&A, he said: "It's my biggest fight so far, as I'm fighting away from home for an area title. This is a central areas fight, which covers Yorkshire, Lancashire and Lincolnshire.

"But at the back end of this year, or early next year, I'm hoping to fight for an English title, and hopefully I can bring that to Bradford. As far as I know it would be the first English title fight in Bradford.

"It should be at featherweight (Khan's actual weight) hopefully, and I'm not too shy about who I get to face."

Speaking about the fight in Blackburn, Khan said: "It's actually a weight above mine but it's going to be my first title fight so I don't really care.

"My opponent has won about 16 or 17 fights, and maybe only lost one (he actually has 14 wins from 16 bouts), so it will be a real fight.

"But I should be able to beat him, on all fronts. I'm really adaptable so although he's on the back foot a lot, which is how I enjoy fighting, I'll have to tuck up on this occasion and go at him for the win.

"I've had some top quality sparring leading up to the fight too, with big household names like Josh Warrington and Luke Campbell, so that's been great."