UNBEATEN Jake Tinklin says his fight in Pontypool this weekend represents a “big step up” for him.

The 22-year-old Risca welterweight will go for a fifth straight victory in the professional ranks on Saturday when he meets Hungarian Zoltan Szabo (27-22) at the Torfaen town’s Active Living Centre.

The Sanigar Events show has a big Gwent presence, with St Joseph’s quintet Gavin Gwynne, Lloyd Germain, Robbie Vernon, Joshua John and Jordan Withers all joining Tinklin on the bill.

Tinklin, like the others, will be keen to impress in front of his own fans, but he knows 25-year-old Szabo is going to give him a tough test.

Szabo, who has shared a ring with the likes of Welshman Zack Davies, Lewis Benson and Ohara Davies, has won his last two contests, the first of those ending a run of 10 consecutive defeats.

“I’ve been in training for this fight for eight weeks and it has been pretty much the same routine as my others,” said Tinklin, who is coached by Gavin Rees. “I always train at 100% every time.

“It’s a good fight to finish the year off, and it’s a big step up for me. He’s a good fighter with 27 wins on his record.

“It’s a big step up, but I’ll be looking for something bigger after this one.

“There has been some talk about the Welsh title, if not next year then the year after.

“It depends what weight I’m going to get down to, some think it will be 10st 7lb, others think 10st.

“If it’s 10st it would be for Kieran Gething’s title, whereas Tony Dixon is the champion at 10st 7lb.

“I’d be looking at Kieran, I’d like to fight him.”

Responding to that, Welsh super-lightweight champion Gething said: “He can eye it up all he likes.

“He was a good amateur and has done well since turning pro.

“Maybe I’ll take the belt to the show in Pontypool and give him a look at it.”

Tinklin has been a professional now for just over a year having left behind a successful amateur career.

He has hit the ground running in the paid code and made a few adjustments to his approach along the way.

“It has been completely different to the amateurs,” he said.

“In the amateurs, you tend to go flat out for three rounds, you can’t sit back and wait to land your power shots.

“A six-rounder gives you the chance to take your time a bit more, and it suits me.

“I’ve been working on not rushing in so much because that can make my performance a bit scrappy.

“I’ve been standing back and boxing more, not being too eager to get in there.”

Vernon, Withers, John and Germain can also extend their unbeaten records in Pontypool, while Gwynne is aiming to bounce back after his first professional loss at the end of August.