THERE was no fight night fright for the Bentham Bomber as he returned to winning ways.

Tomi Tatham secured a comfortable points victory over journeyman Mitch Mitchell in Liverpool on Saturday, December 6.

It was Tatham's first return to the ring since he broke his wrist during a fight 13 months ago and he was delighted to be back in action.

"It was amazing," he said.

"I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

But his run up to the scrap was not all plain sailing.

Annoyingly for Tatham, aged 25, not one but two opponents pulled out at short notice citing injury problems.

This left him scrambling for an opponent with just days to go to the fight.

However, he did not let it effect his preparation, even if he did not know exactly who or what he was preparing for.

Tatham said: "I didn't know who I was fighting but it wasn't too bad because I had been sparring against good opposition.

"I wasn't bothered who it was because they weren't going to be as good as them."

But even after discovering he would be fighting Mitch Mitchell, a Lincolnshire boxer who Tatham beat in three rounds last year, the fight was still in jeopardy.

After a routine blood and urine test, doctors discovered Tatham had blood in his urine.

Despite the initial worry, it turned out to be caused by a heavy body sparring session and he was given the all clear.

Despite cruising to victory against Mitchell in the past, Tatham felt like he was fighting a different man this time around.

"He has improved massively since the last time I beat him," said Tatham, who also goes by the nickname TNT in the ring.

"He has turned into a bit of a journeyman but by being a journeyman he has learnt his ring craft well.

"He kept diving in with his head and holding on to me which stopped me from going to work.

"In the last fight, I was catching him badly but this time he was not allowing me to.

"Mitchell was a lot better than I thought he was going to be."

Questions were raised about the quality of Tatham's opposition given the short amount of time Mitchell had to accept the fight, but the Bentham man is keen to dispel the myth that his opponent was weak.

"He is fighting again next week so we knew he would be fighting fit," said Tatham.

"I was also meant to be lighter than I actually was so it was a good match.

"I was happy he was fit because he put up a good fight."

The injury he has spent so long recovering from was playing on his mind, though, and Tatham admitted it restricted his abilities somewhat.

"It's still on my mind a bit," he said.

"I was hesitant throwing it.

"I through it a couple of times and it was fine but when I tried going for it I think he could see it in me before I threw it. I must have been giving off a little sign or something and he just managed to avoid it.

"Full credit to him for that though, he's learnt a lot.

"My wrist is a bit sore now but that's just because I've been punching someone's head with it."

Tatham brought a 100 person strong crowd with him to the Olympia in Liverpool and they were exceptionally vocal.

"My crowd were the best crowd out of everyone's," said Tatham fondly.

"They were the loudest and it was brilliant. They all know exactly how hard it has been for me since the injury. People say bad things about small villages but I love that they all know what I have been through."

Following his emphatic points victory, the former Lancaster and Morecambe College pupil is already eyeing up his next bout.

Fight night is scheduled to take place in Preston's Guild Hall on February 28 but his opponent is yet to be decided.

Speaking of his upcoming fight, Tatham said: "It's perfect - the venue is as close as it can be for me. I know there's going to be a fierce atmosphere. I'm going to empty Bentham on that night."