Liam Shinkwin claims he will stick to his boxing roots and not get dragged into a brawl after he was selected for the next Prizefighter event on Sky Sports.

Shinkwin will be looking to increase his exposure even further on July 6 after impressing during his Sky debut in March when he won the Southern Area Lightweight title.

Prizefighter is a unique event in professional boxing which was introduced in 2008 and sees eight fighters take part in a knock-out competition over three rounds of three-minutes.

It has become a mainstay in Sky’s boxing coverage, with this being the 31st competition, and is a platform for rising stars to impress or fighters to rebuild their careers.

Shinkwin said: “I am chuffed that I was thought of when it came to picking the eight fighters and I am looking forward to it.

“It provides you with a chance of great exposure. It gets your name out there and winning it can help you leapfrog others into the big fights.

“I am not going to say I am going to beat everyone of them but I am quietly confident I can find a way to win.

“I have a good amateur pedigree - having boxed for England – and hopefully that helps because it is a bit like the amateurs.

“Ten-round fights like my title bout is about endurance and pacing yourself whereas this is three lots of three minutes and you can’t afford to lose rounds, like the amateurs.”

The significantly reduced length of the fight means the boxers need to impress early on and often this leads to the men trading blows, which is one of the reasons why the event has become so popular.

But Shinkwin said: “Don’t get me wrong, I like to fight but I I don’t plan to do that; I am a boxer. The more aggressive the other fighters are, the more vulnerable they will be.”

Like most professional boxers, Shinkwin has a day job and Prizefighter is also recognised for providing many fighters with significantly improved pay days.

Shinkwin’s Southern Area title win, when he extended his unbeaten professional record to six wins and a draw, was his biggest purse so far at £4,500 whereas the Prizefighter winner will receive £32,000 and there is a £2,000 bonus for every knock-out.

The former Bushey Meads pupil said: “My biggest fee before was £4,500 so this is massive in comparison. But I don’t box for the money, I box because I love the sport. Although you won’t hear me complaining if I did win the £32,000.”

Shinkwin will be moving up to light welterweight for the competition but the difference is only five pounds and he says that whilst making the weight for his last fight wasn’t a problem, he did have to work hard at it.

The 27-year-old also confirmed he would be returning to lightweight after Prizefighter.

Shinkwin damaged his hand during his March bout with Ryan Taylor, who is also competing in the event at York Hall in Bethnal Green, and he only started punching again after finding out he would be involved in Prizefighter.

However, Shinkwin stressed: “Training has been going well. After the last fight my hand was playing up so I hadn’t punched for a long time but it is alright.

“I have only been back punching for three weeks but you have to take risks in your career sometimes and it is all coming together now.”

Shinkwin, who is sponsored by Lantern Recovery, Masterson Holdings and Windsors Fitness in Watford, and Taylor won’t be the only fighters in the competition who have faced each other recently, with Enfield’s Chris Evangelou and Danny Connor fighting each other in their last two fights, both for the light welterweight Southern Area title.

The eight-man line-up is completed by Tony Owen, Matty Tew, Eren Arif and Charlie Rice, who worked with Shinkwin for the Bushey man’s last fight.