Hough set for title bout

Walsall's Matty Hough has revealed he will dedicate the Midland title to his aunt Wendy Cole if he wins tonight.

The 31-year-old takes on Birmingham's Max Maxwell for the middleweight belt over 10 rounds at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

And the carpenter says he will be doing it for his dad David's sister, who will be ringside cheering on her nephew despite being struck down by breast cancer.

"She had an operation last week but she's determined to be there at the fight and I'm going to win it for her," said Hough.

"She had to have some tissue taken away and she doesn't get the results until March, which will determine whether she has to have chemotherapy, but she really wants to see the fight."

The winner gets a brand-new belt after Dudley's British title hope Darren McDermott was awarded the original one for three successive defences – and that's another spur for Hough.

"Sometimes I think 'why am I putting myself through this torture?' but when I saw the belt yesterday, it made me realise why it's all worthwhile," he said.

Aunt Wendy will be in familiar company, with numerous family and friends in the crowd.

Celtic's former Wolves full-back Lee Naylor – he and Hough grew up together on the same Mossley estate in Bloxwich – will be travelling down from Glasgow.

And Hough's brothers Luke and Dale, sister Jade and friends from London, Manchester and Hull will all be there.

The only close family member missing is younger brother Daniel, who is attending his girlfriend's 21st birthday party in London.

Apart from the title, Hough's other big wish is to have the biggest fry-up ever tomorrow morning, having shed a stone and a half to make the 11st 6lbs limit.

Even then, Hough had to pound the hills outside the Wednesbury gym at yesterday's weigh-in to trim off an extra pound.

"I was just over a pound over but I managed to get it off by putting a bag on and running for 20 minutes," he said. "I've got two pairs of scales at home and I was bang on, but I think the ones we used were heavy.

"I met Max and he seems a nice fellow – he joked that he couldn't believe I had a fry-up on the day of the weigh-in!

"I hadn't, of course, but I've been hallucinating about it and I'm going to have the biggest cooked breakfast ever tomorrow morning."