JOE Hughes has been handed a chance to reclaim the title he lost outside of the ring.

The Malmesbury boxer was stripped of his English super-lightweight crown following his unanimous points defeat to Jack Catterall in a WBO inter-continental and final British title eliminator contest in May.

That loss to the highly-rated Catterall saw Hughes, whose belt was not on the line that night in Bolton, stripped of his title by the British Boxing Board of Control as he had lost to another Englishman.

Now the board have called for purse bids for Hughes to face new champion Anthony Upton by September 14, with the contest to take place before the end of December.

While the 26-year-old is looking to find his way back up the domestic ladder, he admits he is unsure whether the Ricky Hatton-trained fighter will want to face the man he succeeded as champion.

The pair met in December last year in Walsall, with Hughes dropping Upton twice on his way to a wide points success.

“It is great that I have got this route back,” said Hughes, who will become a dad next month. “But I’m not sure they will fancy it again.

“I had him (Upton) down twice when we met last time and it was close to being stopped.

“Maybe they feel he has improved – he stopped a good opponent (Luke Paddock) to win the belt.

“But both of us tend to fight on Errol Johnson shows, me down here, and him in the Midlands.

“If the fight goes ahead then it will be another tough fight.”

Despite Hughes coming back off a loss, he says that he is unlikely to have a tune-up bout in the meantime, with his fiancée Amy expecting their son in September.

“There is a show in Bristol on September 16, but my fiancée is due on September 12,” Hughes said.

“If I had a fight you can guarantee I’d be in the ring when she goes into labour.

“Tune-up fights are tricky as well, you have got to try and sell tickets for it plus you could get a cut which might hurt your plans.”