NEW dad Joe Hughes is on track to cradle the English super-lightweight title in his arms once again but the Malmesbury fighter won’t be renewing hostilities with Anthony Upton.

Despite stepping into the ring without the St George’s strap on the line, Hughes, 26, was stripped of his belt following his loss to fellow Englishman Jack Catterall in Bolton in May – that contest was for the WBO intercontinental title.

Belfast-raised Upton (13-1), who the Wiltshire man comfortably out-pointed in Walsall last year, went on to claim the belt he failed to directly relieve Hughes (14-2) of by beating Luke Paddock in July and last month promoter Stuart Davies won the right to host a re-match between the two.

However, after leaving trainer and former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton, 24-year-old Upton has stepped away from the English belt, leaving Hughes to contest the now-vacant title as the home fighter at Whitchurch Sports Centre in Bristol on December 17.

On September 10, Hughes’ fiancée Amy O’Kane gave birth to Alby, the couple’s first son, and whilst he’s endured a handful of sleepless nights already, the Malmesbury boxer believes that he’ll be in tip-top shape to attempt to regain the English strap.

“Alby is just over three-and-a-half weeks old now and he’d been really good with sleeping through the night – he’s only just started making a bit of noise,” said Hughes, who trains at Paddy John’s Gym in Bristol.

“It’s not too tough looking after him though because when I’m training, Andy (O’Kane, trainer and manager) will watch him because he’s his grandson.

“I’m treating this like I’m defending the title because I didn’t lose it in the ring. That’s how I feel.

“Stuart Davies, who’s from Weston-super-Mare, won the purse bid. He was working with us, so I was always going to be the home fighter.

“I was waiting to see what Upton wanted to do but now he’s vacated it.

“I wasn’t expecting that but I’ve beaten him before so I’m not too worried about it.”

Hughes’ loss to the highly-rated Catterall was also an eliminator for the British crown but despite being dragged back into the English title picture, the Malmesbury boxer insists he isn’t looking past his next contest.

He added: “If I win, I’ll be back in the mix for the British title but I’m not thinking that this is beneath me – not at all.

“I’d like to get a shot at the British but this what I’ve got to think about first.

“There’s still some time to go but hopefully we can get an opponent sorted quickly.”