UNBEATEN Sean McGoldrick believes his punching power will only truly bring him the rewards it merits once he starts entering the ring with more competitive opponents.

The 26-year-old from Newport made it six wins in as many outings in the paid code earlier this month, comfortably outpointing Craig Derbyshire in a one-sided super-bantamweight encounter at York Hall.

McGoldrick wasn’t able to add a third victory inside the distance to his unblemished record but feels more stoppages are going to come as he continues to rise through the pro ranks.

“Craig Derbyshire was as hard as nails,” he said. “I caught him with some good shots and thought I boxed well.

“He was never going to go down from one single shot and I didn’t find that finishing combination.

“For me, it’s just about learning to break that sort of fighter down, landing the big shots and getting opponents out of there.

“I’m 6-0 and still developing. I’ve had a few fights now and really do feel I’m on the right track and going about things the right way.

“The guys I’m fighting now are very good journeymen who once they’ve been caught with a heavy shot tend to go negative and just try to see out the rounds.

“But as soon as I step up and face more competitive boxers I’m hoping that those shots, rather than making opponents cover up, will make them respond and then I can catch them again.”

He added: “At the lighter weights you don’t really see one-punch knockouts.

“You’ve got skilful fighters and strong, powerful fighters. I fall into the latter bracket.

“If people know that about you they are very cautious and negative.

“People like Craig Derbyshire and Brett Fidoe (who McGoldrick beat on points last month) are very good at what they do and new pros don’t normally fight them until they are eight to 10 fights in.

“If you land a good shot against some of these journeymen then they are more than happy to see it out and lose on points.

“To stop someone who does that is very difficult so you need to find a way to break them down.”

A title fight may not be too far away now for the St Joseph’s ace, while there is talk of promoter Eddie Hearn featuring McGoldrick on his show in Cardiff in August.

But if the Principality Stadium stages Anthony Joshua’s potential heavyweight unification clash with American Deontay Wilder this autumn, McGoldrick could appear on home soil then instead.

It is likely he will get another shot on a big bill given what happened at the same venue this spring when Joshua beat Joseph Parker and McGoldrick’s bout on the undercard had to be shelved at the last minute because of timing issues with television.

“It would be nice to fight in Cardiff, especially after what happened before, but more so for the people who came to watch me,” he said.

“They came to see me box at York Hall earlier this month, and that was on a Wednesday night, so it would be great for them to have a home show.”

As well as his recent successes in the ring, former Commonwealth Games gold medallist McGoldrick has also just signed a fresh deal with management company MTK Global.