Gym 01's Elliott Hoye ready to pull off Italian job at Epsom Racecourse

The flyweight, who trains at Fratton’s Gym 01, meets Giacomo Santoro at the racecourse that’s the home of the Derby on Saturday.

Hoye returns to the cage for the first time this year and is aiming to move his impressive record to 8-1.

The Brighton-born ace was originally set to face Shajidul Haque, but an injury he sustained meant Santoro stepped up.

The Rome-based fighter is unbeaten in his two fights in the pro ranks, although Hoye feels he’ll be a significantly tougher test.

And although Santoro’s team have been trying to play mind games in the build-up, Hoye hasn’t been fazed.

He said: ‘I feel really good for this fight. It’s the best I've felt because it’s been the easiest weight cut I’ve had and I’m bigger going into it.

‘Because I’ve had the lay-off, I’ve been able to put on a bit of muscle.

‘It’s been a few months since I fought, but I’ve had breaks like this before and it’s good to rest the body.

‘Shaj pulled out about 3-4 weeks ago saying he had a little injury, but he’s taken another fight in April so he can’t have been that bad.

‘I don’t know a lot about my new opponent. He’s 2-0 and his team seem very confident – they seem to think they’ve got an easy fight.

‘I think he’ll be good but they seem to think he is the next big thing.

‘His team have been trying to goad me, but they’ve been poor attempts. They’ve been sending me messages but I’ve just ignored them because there's no benefit at this level.

‘I don’t train for a specific opponent so it doesn't give me any extra incentive.

‘If it makes him less nervous and it gets him to the cage then fair enough, keep doing it. As long as he gets to the cage, I don’t care.

‘If he is as good as he thinks he is then I think I’ll finish him late in the fight. But if he’s not as good then it is going to be quick.’

Hoye’s currently ranked the eighth-best flyweight in the country, having defeated Shamsul Haque at Shock N Awe 30 inside Portsmouth Guildhall in October.

His next aim is to move his record to 10-1 before reassessing his aims.

Hoye added: ‘I've got this fight, a fight at Shock N Awe 32 in March and then we’re looking to have about five or six in total this year.

‘We’re just looking at getting to 10-1 being the next goal and then reassess.’