Carlisle's former world champion Charlie Shepherd is set to brush shoulders with some of the best fighters in the world.

Shepherd, who captured the IBO World Championship after defeating American Tom Johnson in 1999 in, arguably, one of the biggest nights of boxing Cumbria has witnessed, will attend the British Boxing Board of Control awards next Friday.

At the awards event, the likes of Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor, world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua – set to face Russian Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium tomorrow night – and George Groves are all nominated for awards.

He said: “I’m down in London in a week’s time for the British Boxing Board of Control awards. I know Carl Frampton will be going.”

After the awards function this month, Shepherd is also set for a busy November.

“I’m going to be with Marvin Hagler in November again,” he said.

“But also in November, I’m going to be with Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns and that’ll be one off my bucket list.

“Once I have done a night with Hearns, I would have done nights with the four Kings in Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler, [Roberto] Durán and Hearns.

“I’m looking forward to all that but, at the minute, I’m just ticking over with my own personal training.”

Shepherd is making it a habit to surround himself with boxing royalty, though, having featured at the Night Of the Champions in Cannock, Staffordshire, on Saturday night.

“On Saturday, I was at Night of the Champions alongside Barry McGuigan, John Conteh and Ray Mancini flew over from America,” he added.

“PJ Gallagher also showed up. I lost to him in 1996 in Sky’s Fight of the Year.

“It was a really, really good night.”