Brad Pauls is steadily building up a resume of solid domestic names on his resume.

Ryan Kelly, Tyler Denny, Nathan Heaney, one-time world title challenger Denzel Bentley and now, he'll look to seize another unbeaten record against Queensberry's new middleweight signee Shakiel Thompson on January 24.

Their 10-round bout will feature as part of a busy undercard preceding Moses Itauma-Jermaine Franklin at Manchester's Co-Op Live Arena, live and exclusively on DAZN.

Former British 160-pound champion Pauls (20-2-1, 11 KOs) has flickered between small-hall shows and television slots over the past three years and acknowledges what's at stake later this month.

Pauls scored a split decision win over Kelly in 2022, was outpointed by Denny the following year before a surprise two-fight series with Heaney saw a split draw and final round finish in their immediate rematch for the Lonsdale belt, which he lost five months later to Bentley.

"I know Shakiel's a good fighter, relatively new on the scene, built his way up on the small-hall circuit like me, but he hasn't been massively tested yet," Pauls told The Ring when asked to assess the Sheffield puncher.

"He was backed quite highly by GBM, dealt with every little step-up so far but he hasn't boxed any of the top-10 domestic lads. It'll be a tough fight against a tall, awkward southpaw but I've got my own ambition and desire to push on."

Thompson (15-0, 11 KOs) won and defended minor WBO/IBF minor titles with stoppage wins over Vladimir Georgiev and River Wilson-Bent in 2024, before entering into negotiations for a surprise world title unification fight against Janibek Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs).

Thompson's manager Kevin Maree told The Ring's John Evans that while they were made an offer, it was far below expectations for what would essentially be an away trip for Janibek's latest homecoming in Kazakhstan.

Janibek ended up blasting beyond Anauel Ngamissengue on April 5, but his immediate fighting future remains uncertain as he awaits the findings of his b-test sample this week, having failed a drug test before a three-belt unification against Erislandy Lara last month.

"We believe Shakiel is a future world champion, we don't need to just jump into a fight that we don't need to take," he said at the time.

12 months later, 'Dr Steel' will make his promotional debut in a career-best challenge against Pauls, knowing how an impressive performance can propel him to new heights.

Pauls believes the experience advantage he boasts - through wins and losses - will pay dividends, come fight night.

"In 2024, I had three main event fights with Queensberry and all at the high level. Heaney twice and then Bentley, all experience in my back pocket, which helps going into the future."