Horndean's Connor Edney vows to put on show for Portsmouth support after briefly having to put professional career on hold

The Horndean-based featherweight had to put boxing on hold after his pro debut victory on South Parade Pier in October 2019.

Unable to find the necessary sponsorship backing to keep him going with small-hall shows hard to come by following the coronavirus outbreak, Edney has gone more than two years without a bout.

But, finally, after a ‘hard’ period away from the sport he loves, the 26-year-old is returning to the ring on Friday evening in the Bendall's Boxing promoted South Parade Pier show - the same venue where he defeated Pablo Narvaez on his debut.

This time around, his opponent is 1-19 Lancashire-based Stephen Jackson and Edney could not be more hungry to provide his supporters with an explosive performance given such a prolonged spell out of the ring having briefly been forced to give up on boxing.

‘It was October 2019 I last boxed at South Parade Pier. Since then, Covid kicked in - I wasn't able to box - I didn't have the sponsorship or backing to box at all,’ said Edney.

‘All my fights come off ticket sales and I wasn't able to sell tickets at that time. I made the decision to halt off my career for a bit, now we're back again, back in action and I feel great.

‘I feel very grateful to be back doing what I love because it was hard for me not to continue boxing because boxing is all I've ever known, really. Stopping doing that because of money was quite hard for me to make that decision.

‘Now we're back, I'm really excited to fight again, we're going to put on a show. With me, all you get is action, you're going to get value for money with me.

‘I'm not going to rob the fans of good money that they've paid to come watch me, they're going to get a show as per usual.’

But given such a long period between his debut and second pro bout, Edney wants the fights to keep coming quickly after his welcome ring return.

He added: ‘Hopefully the crowd is as loud as they were for the first one (pro debut), hopefully we can raise it again and just keep going. I just want to keep the fights flowing now and have a full and successful career.’