Miles Shinkwin is the first to admit his discipline between fights has often proven to be an Achilles heel.

But, ahead of a December 13 meeting with Jake Ball for the vacant WBA Intercontinental belt, the Bushey light-heavyweight has put an end to allowing himself downtime between fights.

He believes doing so will ensure he heads into the York Hall clash in fighting fit shape and with the element of surprise firmly on his side.

“It is no secret that out of training I put on weight and I go from fight to fight having a break and then training again,” Shinkwin said.

“For the last six months I have been in the gym all the time and I will keep doing that so if there is a call I will be in a position to say yes.

“Nobody will pick to fight a fit Miles Shinkwin, so they don’t give me notice because they know how good I can be.

“I will be in a position where I will get a phone call and someone will say ‘can you fight in four weeks?’. That is because they think I won’t be prepared.

“We have been in the gym for about 16 weeks now and I don’t think they would have thought I would do that.”

Next month’s fight promises to be an intriguing one as Ball – a 24-year-old who is relatively untested despite a record of 10-1 – comes up against the more experienced Shinkwin.

Ball’s biggest success to date came in his last outing where he overcame the previously unbeaten Joe Sherriff on points and he boasts eight stoppages.

A defeat by way of knockout against JJ McDonagh in 2016 provides, Shinkwin argues, the best indication of Ball’s quality, and the 29-year-old is confident his class will tell.

“He has been knocked out by JJ McDonagh who wouldn’t fight me,” Shinkwin said. “I am a box of tricks and he is a novice at pro level really.

“He has had 11 fights, but if you look at his record he hasn’t really fought anyone at all.

“I have always been seen as an entertaining fighter and I think I can still show that. I look at him and don’t see anything that can bother me really.”

Both fighters have made a habit of picking up stoppages in their career, with Shinkwin having seven knockouts under his belt.

Shinkwin, however, believes the bout will be a cagey affair rather than slugging match, “He has good people around him who won’t send him out to rush into me. That would be suicide. I expect a pretty tactical fight to be honest,” he said.

“If a knockout comes it comes, but I won’t look for it.”

For Shinkwin, the fight represents an important step to rebuilding his reputation after defeats to Hosea Burton and Joel McIntyre in respective British and English title shots.

Those two defeats are the only losses on his 14-2 record, but Shinkwin understands he must deliver on his promise soon.

“I feel I have promised a lot in my career, maybe not myself coming out and saying it but other people coming out and saying it for me,” he said.

“People have promised a lot for me. I haven’t quite delivered and since the second McIntyre fight I have needed a stage to perform on.

“I want to show what I can do. It is not do or die, but it is almost win or bust for me.”