Sparks are set to fly when Sam Noakes makes the first defence of his European lightweight title.

Noakes (14-0) takes on former champion Gianluca Ceglia (21-4-1) at York Hall in London next Friday.

It’s the headline bout and has all the makings of a cracking contest between the Maidstone boxer and his Italian opponent.

“I don’t think I’m going to have to go looking for him,” said Noakes, whose WBO International title is also on the line.

“Styles make fights and I think it’s going to be entertaining, to say the least.

“He goes forward and I go forward, so it’ll definitely be fan-friendly. That’s what everyone wants. They want to see a ding-dong.

“I know he’s had a couple of good wins.

“He’s going to be tough and durable. He’s been around a little bit but so have I now.

“We’ve had a couple of the same opponents.

“He went the distance with Vincenzo Finiello and Yvan Mendy beat him.”

It’s nearly five months since Noakes, 27, beat Mendy on points to add the European title to his British and Commonwealth belts.

He’s had a good break and can’t wait to get back to work against Ceglia, 34.

Noakes, who has relinquished his WBC International Silver title, said: “I’m feeling good. I’m looking forward to getting in there.

“Training’s been good. It’s probably the best I’ve ever sparred leading up to a fight, so that’s good, and after doing 12 rounds last time, it’s put me in a better place as a fighter.

“It takes the pressure off keeping that knockout streak going, not that I don’t want a knockout - but you can relax a bit and warm into the fight.

“It’s just been a real smooth camp and, fingers crossed, they keep going like this and keep getting better and better.

“It’s been good - I’ve enjoyed it.

“Because I’ve had a bit of time off - I fought in December, February and April before that - it’s probably helped.

“That’s a lot of camps back-to-back.

“You can’t always push, push, push because you end up burning out or something goes wrong.

“You’ve got to take a step back sometimes to peak further.”

September also marks five years since Noakes’ professional debut.

The former Westree amateur has come a long way.

He said: “I had my last amateur fight in the May of that year and that feels like a lifetime ago. It’s mental.

“Anything pre-Covid seems like years back now.

“The fact I’ve lost a year of fighting, you think where I’d be if we didn’t have that? Without that year off, I’d be 20-0 now.

“I don’t look back at old fights at the minute. If a memory comes up, I’ll look but I don’t go through them.

“I imagine it’ll be good in a couple of years’ time to look back through the journey. At the moment, I’m focused on going forward.

“Fingers crossed, I get a good win, keep pushing on and hopefully fight for a world title next year.”