Miles Shinkwin is a frustrated man.

The Bushey boxer had been chasing a Southern Area title shot for the best part of a year. The light-heavyweight was finally made mandatory in February but has been unable to find an opponent.

The former holder, Leon Senior, appeared reluctant to fight the 25-year-old and has now vacated the belt. And Shinkwin says he has offered the fight to three other boxers with no joy.

Shinkwin was set to face Joel McIntyre for the Southern Area crown in May but the Portsmouth fighter is said to have suffered a hand injury.

The contest is being rescheduled for early July but Shinkwin needs to stay active and will fight on May 17 for the vacant British Masters title. The opponent at York Hall will be the durable Danny Couzens.

Shinkwin said: “I am getting fed up with people pulling out of fights with me. If my trainer says to me that I’m fighting someone then I fight them.

“Maybe that is the way I am but I don’t understand why you wouldn’t take a fight if you had the chance to fight for a prestigious belt like the Southern Area title.

“I would understand if I was an unbeaten fighter who had 15 professional fights and was knocking everyone out but I’m not. I’m more of a boxer. I just don’t understand.”

Shinkwin is currently 14th in the British rankings on Boxrec.com. McIntyre is 23rd.

The former Queens’ School pupil hopes a win over Couzens (42nd) would see him break into the British top ten for the first time.

And whilst he wants to win the Southern Area title and is happy to face McIntyre, Shinkwin won’t be waiting around.

He said: “As far as I am aware, I am still mandatory for the Southern Area belt and the fight with McIntyre is still happening when he is ready.

“But I have damaged and broken my hand before and there is no guaranteed time-scale on the recovery so I am not going to wait around for him (McIntyre).

“I need to keep improving and I am not going to risk everything by waiting to see if McIntyre’s hand is all right.”

McIntyre is unbeaten in 11 fights but has only stopped his opponent once. He beat Couzens on points in November and Shinkwin, who has knocked out his last three opponents and is unbeaten in seven fights, hopes to go one step further.

Shinkwin said: “I want to go and do a better job on Couzens than McIntyre did. But then if I do, people will be even more scared to fight me.

“Me and my trainer, Jason Rowland, talk all the time and we don’t want to take an unnecessary fight for no reason because no one will fight me. But it is starting to get that way.

“But on the other hand people are paying their hard-earned money to come to watch me and they want to see me in proper fights.”

Shinkwin’s last three knock-out victories, which came against Czech and Hungarian fighters, means he has only fought six rounds since July.

Couzens has challenged for the Southern Area title at light-heavyweight and cruiserweight and only one man has stopped him.

Shinkwin said: “Danny Couzens has only been stopped once in 15 fights and that was against Leon Williams who has fought for the British cruiserweight title, so Couzens is an ideal opponent for me.

“This fight is definitely a step up. He has proven that he can do the rounds and if I can stop him then it will be an impressive win and if I can beat him on points then I have been able to get ten rounds in the bank.”