CASEY Brown has waited a long time for this day.

Having racked up more than 100 amateur fights, the former Beamont Collegiate Academy pupil steps into the ring for the first time as a professional boxer on Sunday.

Brown is scheduled for a four-round fight against Danny Lewis on VIP Boxing Promotions’ card at the Whites Hotel in Bolton – a show which also features Great Sankey fighter Rhiannon Dixon’s return to the ring.

Like most sports, boxing ground to a halt when Covid-19 took hold – Brown last fought in his 103rd and final amateur bout just prior to the first lockdown in March 2020.

Having turned over into the professional ranks earlier this year, the time has finally come for him to show what he can do.

“I can’t wait. I’m absolutely buzzing for it now,” the welterweight said.

“I think as we get closer to the fight, the nerves will start to kick in but I just can’t wait to get in there.

“I’m so thankful to anyone who’s spent their hard-earned money to buy a ticket to watch me, so now I want to put on a good show for them.”

Apart from turning pro, not much has changed for Brown in terms of his surroundings.

He still trains at Phoenix Fire ABC – the Warrington Fire Station-based club he represented with such distinction as an amateur – under head coach Elliot Dillon.

There may have been some bumps in the road since receiving his fight date from promoter Steve Wood, but the 22-year-old looks back on his first training camp in the paid ranks fondly.

“I’d be lying if I’d said preparations have been perfect, but no camp ever runs completely smoothly – there’s only been a couple of little hiccups,” he said.

“I’ve had my fight date for around nine weeks now and since then, training has been relentless. We’ve really stepped it up.

“There has been sessions where I’ve thought ‘there must be an easier life than this’ but looking back on it now, there wasn’t one of them I haven’t enjoyed.”

Now, the talking stops and all eyes turn to fight night for Brown, who was also an accomplished rugby league player who turned out for Rylands Sharks and the Warrington Wolves scholarship side.

After such a long period out of the ring, he is aiming to make up for lost time but will not go out looking for an explosive start.

“I’ll aim to do four fights at four rounds then step up to six,” he said.

“These early fights are all about learning how the pro game works.

“I just want to put on a good performance and if a stoppage comes, it comes.

“I’m not going to go hunting for it because if you do that, it never comes and you make too many mistakes.

“I’m looking to go out there and demonstrate what Elliott and I have been working on in training.

“I go away on Monday after fighting on Sunday for 10 days, then I’ll be straight back in the gym.

“I’m aiming to fight again before the end of the year – I’ll work towards a date in November/December.

“After that, we’ll probably aim for another fight around March next year.”