Mike McGoldrick and Ross Cooksey will be continuing a big week for boxing in Barrow when they both step back into the ring on Friday night.

The duo are aiming to keep up the feelgood factor kicked off by their fellow Barrovian Liam Conroy defeating Andre Sterling on points to reach the semi-finals of the light heavyweight Golden Contract tournament last Saturday.

Conroy will be supporting both at the University of Bolton Stadium for the show, which is being promoted by their trainer Johnney Roye, where they will be defending their undefeated professional records.

In McGoldrick’s case, it will be a chance for him to kick on from picking up his first victory via knockout against Jevgenijs Andrejevs in September, which was also his first contest over six rounds.

The 34-year-old light heavyweight will be fighting across that distance again when he comes up against York’s Harry Matthews in what is his sixth bout as a pro.

McGoldrick said: “Preparing was tough at first. I obviously had back-to-back camps before and I didn’t get much time to recover in between.

“But it’s all worked itself out in the end and I’ve got myself ready for fight week and I feel ready to go. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve felt ready to fight so I just want to get it done now.

“A stoppage would be nice, obviously, but a win’s a win and ultimately what I’m there for is to get a win, so that’s my main priority.

“If the stoppage comes, then great. I’ve built experience of when to put the pressure on and I’m just learning when someone is ready to go, so the priority is to just get a win.”

Cooksey has had to wait a little bit longer for his fight against Matthews’ fellow Yorkshireman, Batley’s Nabil Ahmed, with it being the 27-year-old featherweight’s first action since July.

Having recovered from the broken wrist that forced him to pull out of his scheduled fight in September, Cooksey will also be stepping up to six rounds, having only boxed over that distance once before.

“To be honest, I can’t wait to get in there and get the job done and then enjoy Christmas with my family and friends,” Cooksey said.

“It’s been a very frustrating year for me, with me being injured for the majority of the year, but training has been going well.

“I feel my boxing skills are coming on more and more now, with me being based at MTK Manchester with Johnney Roye and Tom Livingstone.

“I’m hoping to see a difference, physically, as well because I’ve been working with Matty Green up at Cumbria Strength and Conditioning, which is another great facility.”