Jordan Gill says his latest return to the ring against a former world title contender will probably be “my hardest fight yet".

The Chatteris boxer has been keeping in peak condition ahead of his bout with Cesar Juarez on the undercard of the European welterweight clash between David Avanesyan and Josh Kelly at the SSE Arena in London on February 20.

Gill will be in action for the first time in over six months since brushing Reece Bellotti aside last August, but the Mexican fighter could perhaps be his toughest test to date.

“Juarez has only lost to the best; the people he’s lost to are world champions or top 10 in the world, so you have to disregard those losses,” he said.

“I think he’s very aggressive, he punches very hard, he’s a very tough, proud Mexican and he’s got an exciting fighting style.

“I’ve made sure I’ve stayed in good shape and try to keep the motivation so when the call does come, I’ll be ready to fight at championship level.”

Juarez, 29, boasts 25 wins from 34 fights, has previously held titles such as the WBO Intercontinental Super Bantam belt and has fought for world championships before his most recent defeat to Carlos Castro last July.

Since catching Covid-19 in October last year, Gill has been on the road to recovery and was hoping to fight last December.

Although it is uncertain whether his showdown with Juarez, to be televised on Sky Sports, will be a title bout, the 26-year-old believes there are plenty of thrills to come behind closed doors.

“At the end of the day, I’ve got someone in front of me that wants to beat me and take what I want away from me, so I’ve got to focus and do the job on the night,” he said.

“I want to push onto my goal of becoming a world champion and this is a great first step on the ladder for 2021.

“I’m physically and mentally prepared for a tough fight. He’s going to throw a lot of punches he’s going to try and get on top of me for the whole 10 rounds and it’s going to be a very exciting fight.

“I feel like I’m improving all the time and I think each fight, everyone will see a better version of me.”