John Hedges has just finished training and is keen to hit the road.

“The crazy thing is that it's about 25 miles from my door but the last six miles, you're in Central London. Them six miles can take you three hours. It's crazy,” Hedges (11-0, 3 KOs) told The Ring.

“I'm in the gym now and we're training quite long sessions but I'm always in the back of my mind thinking I've got to beat rush hour because, if I don’t, I can't get my second session in tonight. It's a bit manic but we're getting there”

The 23-year-old English cruiserweight champion is training with Frank Greaves at The Ring Boxing Gym ahead of his upcoming title defence against Ellis Zorro (18-3, 7 KOs). DAZN will broadcast the action from Indigo at London’s O2 Arena on December 17.

The experienced Greaves is Hedges’ third trainer of a rollercoaster year.

In April, and less than six weeks out from his vacant title fight with Nathan Quarless, Hedges parted ways with Mark Tibbs and found himself without a gym or trainer.

In need of some help, the 6ft 5in tall cruiserweight called his friend and British boxing legend, Ricky Hatton, and the two quickly set about forging a plan.

The news that the Essex-born, Essex-bred Hedges had moved to Manchester came as a surprise but he threw himself into life in the north and quickly bonded with Blaine Younis and the team at Hatton’s gym. He went on to outbox Quarless over ten rounds to win the English title.

The shocking news of Hatton’s passing in September changed everything.

Firstly - and most importantly - Hedges lost a close friend and somebody who had helped him during the most testing part of his career. As callous as it sounds, the sad episode also cost Hedges a sponsor which made the financial burden of living and training in Manchester whilst he waited for his fight date to be finalised too heavy to bear.

Knowing that the Zorro fight was looming, Hedges had to make a quick decision. He returned home and linked up with Greaves.

“I’d said, 'Look, this is my home now.' I made the commitment to Rick,” he said.

“Especially after that last performance, in my head, I was going to finish my career with Rick in my corner and that was it. We kind of even was looking around, looking at a house, potentially selling up where I'm living at home and moving my life to Manchester full time.

“Nathan's a good fighter. I barely lost a round and felt quite comfortable. We had four weeks ultimately. I felt like when I got back in the gym after the fight, that's when I started actually getting better because I weren't so focused on fighting Quarless, I was just letting myself develop.

“In boxing, you would say it's been my best year but realistically it's been definitely one of the hardest years to deal with. But we're still here. That’s the main thing.”

The easy way forward would have been for Hedges to take a breath, sit on his title and then feel his way back into action early next year once he was happy and settled with a new trainer.

That was never really an option. The past eight months certainly haven’t been easy for Hedges but they have taught him exactly what he is capable of when his back is against the wall.

He accepted the hardest fight of his career and - for the second time of a difficult year - set about piecing together a new plan.

“As much a people were half saying to me like, 'Do you want to see the year out?' I've lost a camp's worth of money by being in Manchester and then not boxing,” he said.

“I thought, hold on, I'm going to have to put my home life on hold. You've got Christmas and New Year, just for the sake of what? Three weeks into January? I just thought those three weeks into January are probably going to do me more harm than it will do good.

“I just said. 'Do you know what? Let's just roll with it.' Keep the date the same. I'll make the adjustments that I need to make and we'll go from there.”

“To be fair, as quick as I moved to Ricky, I kind of done this as well. So we hit the ground running.”

Zorro will provide Hedges with the ideal gauge of his talent.

Outside of British boxing, most will know the 33-year-old for his first round defeat to The Ring’s outstanding cruiserweight champion, Jai Opetaia, but that showing didn’t provide a true representation of Zorro’s ability.

At British level, he is a solid operator. In July, he smartly slowed down the aggressive, exciting Aloys Junior and appeared slightly unfortunate to lose a 10-round decision.

Zorro will see beating a young, talented fighter like Hedges as a legitimate route back to major fights. Wisely, Hedges has looked beyond the green Ws and red Ls on the older man’s record and recognises the potential threat.

“I actually think it's a hard fight for English level, if I'm honest. Obviously, I beat Quarless for the English and he was good but I do believe Zorro is a level above Nathan,” he said.

“I think it's a fight which has brought a bit of attention. A few people are doubting me which is quite nice, actually. It takes the pressure off a little bit.

“When the Quarless fight got announced - to be honest with you - people were saying, 'Easy win for John.' When I won the Southern Area title, people were saying, 'Easy win for John.'

“Now Zorro's been announced, the talk amongst people is, 'If John doesn't turn up, he's going to get beat here.' I do believe that's the truth.”

“But it's kind of nice because every fight I have to fight with, 'If you lose, it's all over.' Getting in there with Ellis, I'm getting a bit more respect and I do like that.”