Plenty of young boxers find walking into a press conference a far more daunting prospect than walking to the ring.

Most undercard fighters aren’t guided to pre-arranged sit downs or towards recognised outlets, they are told to be at a certain place at a certain time and left to find their way through the masses of camera-wielding YouTubers.

Joe Hayden (20-0, 2 KOs) is used to being around cameras. The undefeated junior welterweight is trained and managed by popular heavyweight Dave Allen and spends a lot of time around a successful, high-profile group of fighters at Jamie Moore's Manchester gym.

There is a difference between being at an event and being part of one. Last weekend, Hayden was handed the opportunity to box on the Allen-Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard.

48 hours out from his fight with former Welsh champion Angelo Dragone, the 26-year-old from Conisbrough stood quietly watching his mentor answer questions and face off with the giant Russian, admitting he had started to hope this would be a regular occurence.

"I was thinking this could possibly be the start of something new. I feel so fortunate to be here and I've just been trying to take it all in and really enjoy the five-week build-up," he told The Ring.

"I've never been part of something like this so I'm just really trying to enjoy all the media and all this stuff.

"He [Dragone] is a former Welsh champion - he's no mug - going to be coming with a lot of ambition. I think that will suit me down to the ground, I think I look better and show the better version of myself when I've got someone coming with ambition and can really box to the best of my abilities."

Despite his relationship with Allen and holding one of the longest unbeaten runs in British boxing, Hayden remains a relatively unknown figure in Britain's 140-pound division.

He had just five amateur fights, combining his boxing career with a job as a nursing assistant at the high-security Rampton psychiatric hospital.

He has been busy and patient since turning professional back in 2022 but, over the past few months, there has been a definite feeling that he has started to make real progress.

"I had my first eight rounder in Doncaster a few months back," he said.

"That was my first proper step up, I feel like I took so much from that fight. I took so much experience and felt a completely different fighter when I went back into the gym after."

"My last fight, I was so excited for it and saying to everyone that I couldn't wait for the fight because I just felt so much better. I feel like I'm starting to get that experience and the performances have shown that. I'm just getting better and better each fight now and think I'll show a better version of myself in this one Saturday."

Saturday night eventually arrived and Hayden was excellent.

He let the aggressive Dragone press forward but ensured he paid a price for his efforts.

Hayden found the mark regularly with an accurate right hook and dropped the Welshman midway through the fourth round with a perfectly timed straight left hand. He couldn't find the punches to stop Dragone but coasted to a confident, impressive decision victory.

He thrived on the big stage and produced the kind of nerveless, solid performance that tends to make a good impression on promoters and should also be reflected in the next set of British rankings.

Allen has worked wonders as a trainer but has also done his best to ensure that if and when Hayden does graduate to big shows, he is also prepared for the out-of-the-ring demands.

"Since I turned pro with Dave - since being 19 or 20 years old - Dave's always shoved us in front of a camera," he said.

"From the very beginning, whenever we've been at shows he's always done his interviews then just got us to do them. Most of them never even got posted, never even got put out anywhere, but he'd always just put us in front of the camera just to get us used to it.

"He'd say, 'One day, you'll be up here and in front of the camera. You want to be ready for it.' At the time, you don't think much to it but when you fast forward to now, I quite enjoy it, to be honest. It just shows that that really paid off."

Hayden's next step will be interesting.

Not one of his first 17 opponents had a winning record but the slow, steady approach appears to have worked and he has got better as his opposition has improved.

His last three opponents have had a combined record of 42-16-1. Last month, he stopped India's Ramesh Kumar inside two rounds. Last weekend he dropped Dragone.

Hayden just wants to keep on progressing.

"Hopefully I'll finish the year 21-0," he said. "We're looking at getting a 10-rounder and a Commonwealth eliminator for November so if I can end the year like that, then hopefully pick up a belt in the first fight of next year and keep building up the British rankings."