Sam Noakes believes that his first world title shot has arrived at just the right time.

On November 22, Britain’s Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) and unbeaten American Abdullah Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) will contest for the vacant WBO lightweight on Ring IV. The event takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will be live-streamed by DAZN.

The all-action 28-year-old from Kent made his name by rampaging through the domestic 135-pound division, scoring 13 consecutive knockouts and collecting British, Commonwealth and European titles.

As his star began to rise, Noakes upped his activity and bounced from one fight directly into the next.

Rather than hitting a brick wall when he faced somebody with the experience and resilience to stand up to him, Noakes showed a different side of his game and outboxed the fringe world level Yvan Mendy over 12 rounds in April 2024.

He displayed a deep gas tank and an ability to remain focused as he was taken the championship distance by the incredibly tough Ryan Walsh.

The various demands of boxing at the very highest level make it extremely hard to maintain such a busy schedule, and Noakes has only boxed once this year while waiting for his title shot to be confirmed.

Nonetheless, he is confident that he and his trainer, Al Smith, have ticked every box. He isn’t concerned by the reduced activity and thinks that he is perfectly placed to attack the world scene.

“I think so. Last year, from December ’23 to December ’24, I had five fights but that was quite busy. I got prepared for another busy year this year and then it just didn't quite pan out that way,” he told The Ring.

“I can't really moan, can I? I'm fighting for a world title at the end of the year. I feel like I may not have been active fight-wise this year but I've been in the gym. I've been sparring.

“We've established ourselves, we know what we're doing. Al’s been around the business for ages. He knows what he's doing. Francis [Warren, his manager] is the same and it's all just sort of worked out.

“I've stayed in my lane, just kept working, kept grafting and it's paying off.”

Noakes is an uncompromising, no-nonsense fighter between the ropes but he is a happy-go-lucky, relaxed character away from the ring.

Throughout his rise, he has always refused to call out any names or target specific opponents.

Since he and his team concentrated their efforts on the WBO title path, they have been solely focused on climbing the rankings and securing a mandatory shot at the belt, whoever was wearing it.

When Noakes first determined to take the WBO route Ukraine's Denis Berynchyk held the title. He lost it to Keyshawn Davis who was quickly stripped after weighing in four pounds over the lightweight limit for a scheduled defence against Edwin De Los Santos in June.

Now, the belt lies vacant and Noakes has his sights set on Mason.

“I feel like we've been slowly trying to work up to that number one spot. I think a week or so before Keyshawn was due to box I got moved into number one so then I feel like we knew it was coming,” Noakes said.

“When he missed weight it was like, 'Right, we'll try and get this a done deal.' When they ordered it, it all became a little bit real.”

“If it had worked out that [Davis] was the champion, then we would have went for that fight.

“It’s worked out all right. It’s vacant and obviously me and Abdullah can fight for it.

“It's funny. Everyone goes, 'What's your plan? What are you doing? What's going on?'

“You don't really know with boxing. It can change it at the drop of a hat. Someone misses weight, someone pulls out. It's an exciting time.”