Elliott Matthews believes a change of management could provide him with the boost required to challenge for major honours in the future.

The Watford middleweight has joined up with Mo Prior and British Warrior Promotions as he looks to take his career to the next level.

An English title fight against Joe Mullender awaits in the autumn and Matthews feels signing with Prior will help him push on.

“It has been a really busy couple of weeks because of the change of management and moving to work with Mo,” Matthews explained.

“Mo is really enthusiastic about pushing me for titles and he is positive about what I can achieve.

“It feels like a no-brainer to work with him and he offers me lots out of the ring and is helping me prepare for the future. I trust him.”

Another plus point of the new relationship comes in the form of Prior’s locality.

He works in Rickmansworth and Matthews will be able to rely on a team which is based in Watford.

The 36-year-old is eager to grow his reputation in his own back yard and feels working alongside Prior will allow him to do so, while also providing the chance to train more.

“I am sparring and doing conditioning work locally, so can do that every other day and train more with a team that is behind me,” he said.

“Mo is local and knows the Bushey and Watford area well. It keeps things close by and just makes things a bit easier.

“He is keen to put fights on in Watford and has got a lot of local support . Hopefully we can build up that support for me and put a big show on in Watford.”

While matters outside the ring have been moving in a positive direction, Matthews has been frustrated by fight cancellations in recent weeks.

He had hoped to get a fight in before the English title bout with Mullender, but saw a clash on July 15 called off and was denied a spot on an undercard this Sunday.

Matthews admits to the cancellations being frustrating, but is still confident of getting an important win against Mullender.

“I was supposed to fight on the 15th and the boxing board wouldn’t grant permission for Sunday because there were too many fights on the card,” he said.

“The main thing is to keep training and keep momentum up.

“I am excited about the Mullender fight and have a good energy around me at the moment.

“I want to go and win the title and am confident. I want to get the English title, then the British one.”