Shoe-Box ace Eithan James in great shape as he gets set to defend European crown

​The 23-year-old Northampton fighter takes on fellow 100 per center Owen Cooper in the showdown at Resorts World in Birmingham, with the vacant English title also up for grabs.

James, nicknamed Jammy, secured the European title in July last year when he claimed a unanimous points verdict over James Moorcroft, a success that took his professional record to 12 wins out of 12.

Cooper is going to be a testing opponent though, with the fighters knowing each other well having been Team England room-mates as amateurs.

Also 23, Worcester's Cooper also boasts an unblemished pro record having won nine out of nine, with his most recent win, over Robin Zamora, coming on the undercard of James' title success at Telford last summer.

But Conway is certain his man is going to have the edge.

“We are really looking forward to the fight," said Conway.

"Eithan and Owen are what they are, neither lad will change their styles and it looks like it could really gel and produce a cracking match-up.

"Owen is a short, come forward fighter, he slips and slides, shuts the space and Eithan is a tall rangy Boxer who is really difficult to close the space on.

"That's because he’s so accurate as people walk on to him, and actively encourages it.

"So it is boxer versus fighter, and it is not just that, they also know each other well having roomed together when on England duty.

"It’s just business though, there is no animosity between the two and they are both nice lads that stand in each other’s way at this time.

"We’ll fight and wish Owen well with the rest of his career."

Although he has been out of the ring for more than seven months, James has been working hard at Team Shoe-Box's Harlestone Road gym, and Conway says he is looking sharp as fight night approaches.

“I rate Eithan's chances pretty good as we go into our last week," said the trainer.

"He is in a good spot with his weight, he’s been full of energy and sparred really well with fresh sharp aggressive opponents jumping in and out trying to make his life a nightmare.

“Come 8pm Saturday, I see Eithan still being WBO European champion, and the English title holder as well."

The James against Cooper clash is on the undercard of the IBO World super bantamweight title fight between Liam Davies and Erik Robles Ayala.

Also on the bill is the British middleweight title clash between Nathan Heaney and Brad Pauls.

The action from the Queensberry Promotions event will be shown live on TNT Sports.

This is set to be a big few weeks for Team Shoe-Box, with Kieron Conway taking part in the middleweight $1m Prizefighter tournament that starts in Japan on Sunday, March 31.