Tom Dallas has been handed the opportunity to prove he deserves to be ranked alongside Britain’s best heavyweight fighters.

The 6ft 6in Chatham boxer has agreed to fight the former English, British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion Matt Skelton next month.

Dallas (pictured) has not fought since losing a hastily-arranged contest with David Price in November, where he suffered a second-round KO. It was Dallas’s first defeat from 16 professional encounters.

He is now ready to return to the ring and will be fully prepared this time.

Dallas, who had less than a week to prepare last time out, said: "I am not making any excuses. David beat me fair and square but I took the fight at short notice.

"This time I will have time to train to beat Skelton and hopefully get another crack at Pricey later on down the line.

"Many heavyweights have a loss on their record, it’s how you come back. I wanted to fight a real opponent and not a Latvian lemon, so it is great to be taking on such a high-profile fighter."

Dallas, 26, is currently sparring with Dereck Chisora ahead of the Finchley-man’s WBC world title fight with Vitali Klitschko later this month.