CHARLIE FLYNN admits the preparations for his professional debut at the Thistle Hotel tomorrow night have been greatly helped by the fact he has known the identity of his opponent for more than a fortnight.

The Commonwealth Games lightweight gold medallist will meet English journeyman Ibrar Riyaz in front of an expectant 900 sell-out dinner show in what Flynn hopes will be the first step towards similar fistic glory in the professional ranks.

But, as the 21-year-old pointed out, the fact he has had a prolonged period of preparation with Riyaz is in stark contrast to his life as a decorated amateur.

"It is good I have known I am fighting (Ibrar) Riyaz for a couple of weeks as that has given me time to study the tape of him and get to know his style, and that is a luxury you never get in the amateurs," admitted Flynn.

He continued: "Then you can be turning up just before you are due to go on and you could be fighting anyone from Australia to Kazakhstan. But I know how Riyaz works, that he has been busy and, with 74 fights behind him, that he has huge experience.

"He is going to want to make it tough for me early on and it is going to be important I remain composed, but that is a big strength of mine.

"This is my pro debut and I am not going to say I am going to do this or that. What I want to produce is a solid and steady performance that gives me a good foundation going forward into 2015. All my focus is on getting off to a winning start."

Despite the increasing hype building around the professional debut of a young boxer who is seen as the next big Scottish thing to enter the square ring, Flynn says his composure will remain unruffled.

"I am going into my pro debut as the Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and I guess that does mean there is a fair bit of expectancy on me. But I have always dealt with pressure well and I never beat myself up," said Flynn.

He continued: "Peter Harrison, my trainer, once said to me that a 'relaxed fighter is a good one,' and that is something I try very hard to follow.

"If you put pressure on yourself then you tighten up and your timing goes. You lose the sting in your shots and become more upright. So I am not going to go saying this or that about tomorrow night, for me it is about taking baby steps and building steadily."

Flynn's Commonwealth Games team-mate, Joe Ham, will also make his pro debut against David Kvaratskhelia of Georgia.