JOHNNY ARMOUR is adamant he will be back in the ring in the near future.

The former WBU bantamweight champion has been out of action since his defeat to Nathan Sting in July 2003 but is looking to come back at the 8st 10lb mark.

He is looking for a warm-up fight, in April but then is hoping for a title shot against either British champion Michael Hunter or European title holder Esham Pickering. And Armour is confident he can hit the big time once again.

He said: "I don’t think I can make bantamweight any more but I can definitely make super-bantam. I’ll be like a featherweight coming down to super-bantam, which most of the fighters at that weight do, anyway.

"There’s not much quality in this division in this country so I feel I have a good chance of making a big impact quickly.

"I feel I have got a couple of big fights left in me and I reckon I can beat either Pickering or Hunter and then take it from there. But I know I have to get back into the ring soon because time is against me."

The 36-year-old Chatham fighter has had one unsuccessful venture into this division before. Armour was beaten by American fighter Carlos Navarro in December 1998 for the WBU super-bantamweight title but feels he will be better prepared this time around.

He added: "The first time I moved up I wasn’t heavy enough. I was struggling to make the higher weight but I was still only making about 8st 8lb. This time I’ll be stronger and I’ll be a natural super-bantamweight."