MALMESBURY boxer Joe Hughes says he may have to take his career overseas after being ordered to fight Italian Andrea Scarpa for the vacant EBU light-middleweight title.

Hughes has suffered a stagnated year so far with just one fight, that came in February where a sixth-round triumph over Ruben Rodriguez improved his record to 16-3-1.

The 28-year-old had been hoping for a new shot at the British title after he drew with Tyrone Nurse in Leicester in April of last year.

However, the fight between Scarpa and Hughes has been sent to purse bids, with a deadline of Wednesday, October, 10.

Hughes is confident the bout will go ahead later this year, but says there could be a chance he has to fight in Italy.

“It’s a positive one. I have just been hanging around waiting to see what is happening with the British title,” said Hughes.

“When the (European) belt was vacated, we emailed them to say we would be happy to go for the fight and threw our name in the hat.

“We weren’t expecting much but luckily they came back within a few days and put the fight forward, so that’s good.

“I’d like to think that it would go ahead. The problem is that it is an expensive fight so we need to find someone who wants to put it on.

“A lot of the big promoters, especially the TV ones, have got the rest of their year planned out and booked up.

“If it was a non-title fight, it would be a bit more difficult. The Italian side are bound to put a bid in, I’m confident they’ll do that.

“If they put a big enough bid in, which will beat our bid, it will be in Italy. If it goes over to Italy, I’ll have to win by a mile but I am confident I can do that.”

Scarpa poses a different proposition to what Hughes is used to. The Italian has a record of 23-4 and has previously been crowned Italian champion in addition to winning the WBC Silver super-lightweight title.

The rangy fighter will provide a difficult test for Hughes, but the Malmesbury man is looking forward to the contest.

“I have brought my training up because now I have a target to aim for,” he added.

“I don’t know too much about him but I have seen little bits. He is a multiple Italian champion, he’s about 6ft tall, even though he is the same weight as me.

“I’m 5ft 7, so there is a slight discrepancy there. He’s a decent kid, he’s more of a boxer than he is a fighter.

“It will be a tricky challenge especially if it does end up in Italy.”