Boxing: Gavin McDonnell eager to impress on Kell Brook undercard

But he admits he would much prefer to be making a little history of his own as he chases a world title fight.

The Dunscroft fighter will be on the undercard of the intriguing middleweight clash between the world’s most dangerous puncher Gennady Golovkin and Sheffield’s Kell Brook at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.

McDonnell will take part in an eight round contest, designed to keep him ticking over as he pursues opportunities on the world stage.

The 30-year-old is frustrated that pursuit has yet to reap results after last stepping through the ropes more than six months ago when he claimed the WBC Silver super bantamweight title in Manchester.

For now he is content to be back in the ring, particularly on such a big show.

“Just to be part of the night is something special and I was really pleased when it got confirmed,” McDonnell told the Free Press.

“It’s a massive night for British boxing and for Yorkshire as well with Kell going in there with one of the very top fighters in the world.

“Who knows whether Golovkin will fight over here again. He’s special and people are excited to see him.

“This is going to be one of those you talk about in years to come. And when people mention it, I’ll be able to tell them I was on the bill.”

After convincingly out-pointing Jorge Sanchez in February, McDonnell was ranked number two by the WBC and hoped to quickly enter the world title picture.

He has barely been out of the gym since and has been solidly training for the last four months as he awaited the call.

The inevitable frustration came but he remains determined to be ready when the phone does ring with a life-changing opportunity.

And that continues this weekend in London.

He said: “I’ve been in camp for 16 weeks and that is a long, long time.

“We were hoping that something would have come up before now but it’s just not happened.

“That’s nothing against my team. They’re working hard to make something happen and it’s just the way it goes sometimes.

“I was hoping to have kicked on and not had to have these ticking over fights. I’ve been making good progress with each fight so you don’t want to be standing still.

“The good thing is that we are learning all the time in the gym. I’ve still got loads to learn and I’m picking things up all the time. It’s not just the same old thing every day.

“There’s always things on the cards so hopefully we’ll be able to get something sorted before the end of the year.

“I’ve got this fight at the O2 and I’m ready for it. It’ll be a little tester and that’s what I’m after – something to keep me on my toes.

“I’ll go down there and enjoy the whole occasion of it all, get the business done and hopefully something big will come before the end of the year.”