STOURBRIDGE boxer Sam Horton has been given the opportunity to kickstart his career against Olympic champion James DeGale.

The 25-year-old will take on DeGale for the WBA intercontinental super-middleweight crown at West Ham United’s Upton Park ground on May 15.

Horton will go into the fight very much the underdog despite his greater experience as a professional but believes he can cause a shock and claim the biggest scalp of his career to date.

He said: “It’s an opportunity I could not turn down, I did not hesitate when I got the offer.

“If I win this fight the sport is there for me, I can really make a name for myself.

“It’s a chance to go out there and beat an Olympic champion, I’m not going to get a chance like this again.

“It’s strange but it almost feels a bit like Rocky, all the attention will be on him but make no mistake, I’m going there to win.”

Horton has just one defeat in his 15 fight professional career, albeit a second round knockout by Cello Renda in a British middleweight eliminator last November.

DeGale, widely touted as a potential future world champion, has won all six of his pro bouts but has never boxed more than four rounds.

Nevertheless, the Londoner is not short on confidence and has publicly stated he expects to beat the Stourbridge man well inside the 12 round distance.

Yet Horton remains unfazed.

He said: “To be honest I have not really looked at much of what he has said.

“He claims to have only watched me once, when I was beaten by Renda, but that was bad performance.

“I’m a much better fighter than that. This time I’m going to listen to my corner and fight my own fight.

“That fight was at middleweight but I’ve always fought at super-middle. I’m back at a weight I feel comfortable with.”

After labouring to a points win over Jamie Ambler in January, Horton pointed to a lack of preparation because of work commitments.

The bus driver is determined nothing will affect his training for the DeGale clash and is preparing to take five weeks unpaid leave.

He said: “I have got this far in my career by fitting my training around work, it’s chance to see just how far I can go with a full training regime.

“I’ve got great support from my sponsors JFT Foams and it’s a case of putting everything into the next few weeks.”