Teenager Jack Smith is being tipped to be next top star off the Chatteris production line.

The town, which produced the legendary Dave ‘Boy’ Green and current unbeaten ace Jordan Gill now has another emerging fighter.

The 18-year-old flyweight, who has enjoyed an extensive 38-fight career as an amateur, winning 20 of them, was granted his professional licence last week.

Smith will fight out of the St Ives Boxing Academy and his trainer, Steve Whitwell has high hopes for him in the paid ranks.

Whitwell said: “Jack has received a really good grounding as an amateur, both in this country and while he lived in Australia for a while. He has spent the last three years under my guidance and I’m delighted to have total control of his career as a pro.

“He is quite young to be making the switch to the paid ranks given he doesn’t turn 19 until December, but there are a number of factors which prompted this move.

“The first of those is that it is extremely difficult to get him matched with only the top-ranked amateurs willing to face him.

“Another is that his style will be much better suited to the pro game. We’ve found it tough to get decisions from the judges when in amateur bouts.

“He will also improve for having the chance to box over longer than the three rounds he has been used to in the amateurs, but we will be taking things slowly and making sure we always make the right moves.

“Due to Jack’s age, we have time on our side and there will be no rush to get him into title contention.

“That said, I expect big things from him over the next few years. I’m confident he will become a fans’ favourite with his aggressive style combined with smart boxing skills.”

Whitwell revealed there is a possibility that Smith could have his first pro outing in December, but he is more likely to make his debut in February 2017.