BENTHAM boxer Tomi Tatham has his gloves at the ready as he prepares for a long-awaited return to the ring after a year on the treatment table.

The 25-year-old light heavyweight bruiser has been out of action since breaking his wrist in a fall while running prior to his first professional defeat to Sheffield-born hitman Lee Duncan at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens in November last year.

Chomping at the bit for a return, ring master Tatham has been forced to watch on from the sidelines while maintaining a light training regime to keep in shape.

After months of waiting, this week the 25-year-old received the all clear to fight from a specialist consultant and his eyes are now firmly fixed on a bout against an as yet unknown opponent at the Olympia in Liverpool on December 6.

"The next few weeks are crucial," said Tatham, who ended his first year as a professional boxer with an unblemished record winning five from five before losing to Duncan.

"I have been sparring this week and throwing with a bit of aggression so I am absolutely made up. I need to get confidence back in my wrist and myself and as soon as I have got that back I can start getting back on the ladder.

"I will be nervous throwing the first punch but if you don't do it you'll never do it. It is going to hurt but I am ready to fight and am not going to do any more damage to my wrist.

"I have managed to keep my weight down and my body fat is under 10 per cent but I have still got a stone to lose. It's going to be hard graft but that is why I love boxing.

"Because I am a late addition it will only be a four round fight but it will get the ring rust off and then hopefully I will be back out again in February in Preston.

"The opponent has not been announced yet but I am not bothered, whoever it is they are getting it. They better bring their running shoes because they are going to have to do some."

Tatham was given the medical thumbs up by Mike Hayton at Wrightington Hospital, a centre of orthopaedic excellence near Wigan.

But the fighter also put his recovery down to having a positive mental attitude which stemmed from a comment from a friend about a book called 'The Secret',

Written in 2006 by Rhonda Byrne, the best-seller claims that positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness. The book has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 46 languages.

Tatham explained: "When you are feeling negative, you wake up in the morning, roll out of the wrong side of the bed and things go wrong. That is because you are feeling negative and you are attracting negativity. Everyone has their own views and I was a bit sceptical but I thought you know what I'll give it a go. I started looking at my hand as if it was fixed and then all of a sudden it started becoming better and better."

Tatham will fight on the night that Merseyside cruiserweights Wayne Adeniyi and Carl Dilks clash for the vacant BBBofC Central Area title.