Commonwealth champion Philip Bowes has explained why he can’t wait to get his hands on Akeem Ennis-Brown this month.

The Leytonstone boxer looks to add the vacant British super-lightweight championship to the Commonwealth belt he holds when he faces Ennis-Brown on promoter Mickey Helliet’s show at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on Saturday, November 29.

The 12-rounder tops a bill that also features prospects Charlie Shane and Ace Adams and Bowes says there’s needle between the southpaws.

The 35-year-old said: “We were cool, I was happy to see him doing well and then he started calling me out.

“We were offered the fight against him in July, but I already had an opponent, so we didn’t need to fight him.

“He was told we turned the fight down and he started calling me out.

“I know he was struggling to get fights, but there was no need for him to start calling me out.

“I thought: ‘Why did you do that?’

“There was never a problem between us. We used to chat on Instagram and now there is friction between us.

“The only reason I didn’t fight him in July is because I already had an opponent lined up and if I’m scared of fighting him, why am I fighting him next month ?

“I don’t need to fight him. The British title is something every British fighter wants to get their hands on, but I could defend the Commonwealth title instead if I didn’t want to fight him.”

In the trade, Ennis-Brown is known as nobody’s idea of an easy night’s work.

Tall and spindly at 5ft 11ins, Ennis-Brown has claimed the scalps of current British welterweight champion Chris Jenkins and Glenn Foot and last time out, the 24 year old from Gloucester handed Bilal Rehman his first loss.

That was Ennis-Brown’s 13th straight win, but Bowes warned: “He’s never fought anyone like me before.”