TWO boxers from Witham are in intense training as they prepare for their third fights in the professional ranks in March.

Former Witham Cricket Club captain and Witham Town footballer Kaan Hawes will be first up as he boxes on the MTK Global show in Brentwood on March 3 and Tom Ansell, a personal trainer at Witham Leisure Centre, will be in action at York Hall in Bethnal Green on March 10.

Both boxers come into their third fights on the back of wins in their first two professional outings.

Hawes, who is 31, beat Bicester’s Scott James on points at Brentwood before Christmas and is waiting to find out who is next opponent will be on March 3, but he is hoping it will be the first of several bouts in the early part of this year.

He said: “I’m back in training camp now, but I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out who I’ll be up against.

“I leave details like that to my management, but I know they want to keep me busy in the early part of the year.

“I do know that I’ll be staying at super welterweight for this fight, though, and we’ll see how the numbers go for this one before possibly looking at moving down to welterweight.”

Hawes said tickets for the MTK Global show were on sale now and that he could be contacted on social media via Facebook, Twitter at @kaanhawes or on Instagram if anyone wanted to book a place.

Ansell, meanwhile, has already made the call to move into the welterweight division for his next fight on March 10.

Like Hawes, the 24-year-old is also waiting to find out who he will be facing at York Hall, but he has taken the decision to drop down a weight category from what he was when he stopped Alexander Chuckaleyski at the O2 Indigo in his second fight at the end of last year.

Ansell said: “I’m getting as much sparring and technical work in as I can and sparring against different types of fighters so I can build my arsenal of techniques to make sure I’m ready for whoever I face.

“I am moving down to welterweight, though, because I was making weight at super welterweight three weeks before my last fight and it seems a sensible move.”

Ansell also thanked his sponsors Complete Physio and Fitness Witham, Food One Consultancy, BD Electrical Contractors, Hermit at Red Coats pub, Red Lift Hire, Nick Ansell PT, Simcotts Building Contractors, BTG Management and Top Guard UK for their help in his fight preparations.

Anyone wanting tickets for the York Hall show can do so via the website at https://iboxingtickets.com/products/tom-ansell-tickets or by contacting Ansell via Instagram at tomansell9, on his Facebook page or on Twitter at TomAnsell9