Paul Hyland Jr was not fussed at all by the very visual warnings made by Virgile Degonzaga (11-10-2) at the All On The Line weigh-in today.

Hyland Jr and Degonzaga fight a 6 round contest tomorrow on the undercard of Conrad Cummings’s contest with Alfredo Meli, and the Frenchman made his intentions clear with a strong throat-slitting gesture as he tried to intimidate his Belfast opponent.

“We will see what happens tomorrow. That’s what I said to him, I said we’ll see what happens. That’s just all for show really, a bit of entertainment” said the relaxed and smiling Hyland Jr.

Hyland Jr. was however wary of the threat he faces from Degonzaga, who can boast 8 knockouts from his 11 wins, yet still confident that he will prevail with no major issues:

“I know he is strong and has a winning record. He has more knockouts than I have fights. But I just want to box him and keep my defence high. I think the fight will probably go the distance because he is pretty tough, but like I say I will jut box, keep my defences tight and high and I’m pretty sure I’ll get a shutout.”

A title shot at Celtic or even British level may await in 2016, and Hyland Jr. knows a loss at this stage of his career would be a major dent in his hopes for a shot at a belt:

“I can’t afford to slip up. I’m currently no.12 in British rankings, so soon I will get into the top 10 and hopefully that could lead to a British title shot, but I have to win one first.”