Rob Kenney adds his name to Friday night’s boxing card at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall hoping to make up for lost time in 2009.

The hometown boy steps back up to light middleweight to make it in time for the ‘First Team Promotions’ show, in his first fight of the year after seeing his initially planned bout in late February scrapped due to an abnormality in his medical.

Up stepped Stourbridge’s Scott Evans to take his place and shot at the British Masters welterweight title, outpointing Chris Long to take the vacant belt.

It was a low blow for Kenney, who had already been frustrated in his efforts to compete late last year, when another planned bout for the British Masters title at middleweight fell by the wayside when the show was scrapped.

Now the 31-year-old is chomping at the bit to get back into the game.

He said: “I just want to box. I had to say to my manager Errol Johnson ‘look, can I go on the Civic show and do four, three minute rounds, because I simply need to get some ring time under my belt.’

“I feel like I have been out of the ring for ages, I have trained hard all through these last few months but there’s no substitute for being in there.

“I am really looking forward to fighting at the Civic.”

Keeney has always refuted the British Boxing Board of Control’s claims that he was unfit to face Long, in what would have seen him top the bill in his hometown for the first time.

The former Midlands middleweight champion said: “The specialist I saw afterwards told me they couldn’t understand what the board was on about. But that didn’t give me my fight back – I lost a shot at the British Masters title and the main event at the Civic because of it.”

Despite a stop-start 2009 so far, Kenney still harbours hope that he can fly up the ladder as the year wears on and reach the promised land – a crack at the English title.

He said: “Yes that is still my goal, but I need to get started quickly. Hopefully I can get back down to welterweight, win a Masters title or something like that and then I will be considered as a strong challenger for the English title.

“That was always the plan – and I am glad to get it started again.”

To be there for the big fight night, contact the box office on 0870 320 7000 or promoter Paul ‘PJ’ Rowson on 07976 283 157.