LIAM Conroy believes missing out on a British light-heavyweight title eliminator this time around could benefit him in the long run.

The 23-year-old Barrow fighter had been set to face Tomi Tatham on the undercard of Anthony Crolla's world lightweight title clash against Jorge Linares tonight, only for his opponent Tomi Tatham to pull out after suffering a back injury.

Conroy now faces French fighter Baptiste Castegnaro in a six-round contest instead and, while he will have to wait a bit longer to have a crack at the famous Lonsdale belt, currently held by Hosea Burton, he is happy to bide his time.

“I think not fighting in a British title eliminator this time might be a bit of a blessing in disguise,” said Conroy.

“We've been working on a few different things in training and it's given me a chance to have a bit longer to perfect them.

“I'm still hoping to have an eliminator for the British title in my next couple of fights, but I'm focusing on this one at the moment.”

Fighting on a world title bout undercard will be a whole new experience for Conroy and it is one he is savouring.

Rather than be in awe of his surroundings, he is in a relatively laid-back mood ahead of the clash with Castegnaro at the Manchester Arena, and hopes this increased level of exposure will benefit him in the long run.

“The build-up and everything around it is completely different to what I have experienced before,” said Conroy, adding: “I'm feeling relaxed and looking forward to it.

“I changed my outlook a few years ago, although there will be another guy in there trying to take my head off so I've got to make sure I'm still aware of him.

“But I'm just going to block out the television cameras and people there, and concentrate on making sure I get the job done.”

Opponent Baptiste comes into the contest with a record of eight wins and nine losses from 17 fights, and has never won outside of his homeland.

However, he has never been stopped either and has four of his victories inside the distance, which is enough for Conroy to be wary of the danger posed by underestimating the 25-year-old.

“I've watched videos of him, but you can only tell so much from them and I'll use the first round just to see what he's all about like I usually do,” said Conroy, whose last TV bout came in the Prizefighter competition.

“He hasn't been stopped, so I know he's tough, and most of the lads he has lost to have got decent records, so it will be good to see how I stand up against them.

“I've been training for whatever comes because I've had loads of different sparring partners and my fitness is really good.”