ARCHIE SHARP will look to bounce back from his first professional defeat in an all-British showdown with Maxi Hughes on May 23.

The 29-year-old had been steadily climbing the super-featherweight rankings but his progress was checked when he lost on points to Southampton’s Ryan Garner last July.

That defeat left Sharp at 25-1 (9) but he now looks set to make his move up to lightweight and The Ring understands that his 135lb debut will come against seasoned world level campaigner Hughes, 34.

‘Maximus’ suffered back-to-back defeats to George Kambosos Jr and William Zepeda but has rebuilt since then with a six-round win over Efstathios Antonas in September before an impressive shutout victory over Gary Cully in Monte Carlo three months later.

A clash between Hughes and Josh Padley, who was beaten by Shakur Stevenson in Riyadh on February 22, had been mooted but it now looks like he will instead take on Sharp.

The fight is likely to land in Doncaster as part of the undercard for Terri Harper’s WBO world lightweight title defence against Natalie Zimmermann at the Eco-Power Stadium on May 23.

As reported by The Ring this week, the GBM-promoted show will be formally announced at a press conference on Monday and Sharp’s encounter with Hughes could be part of it.