SCOTT Harrison's much-hyped comeback has grabbed all of the headlines in the build-up to tomorrow's tasty Kelvin Hall bill.

But, for one young fighter at the other end of his career, it will represent the first step in the professional game.

Former British youth champion Hugh Gray will make his pro debut against Billy Smith at light-welterweight after electing to turn pro.

That decision shocked many within Amateur circles, with the outstanding teenage prospect also having already annexed Scottish and Western District titles and having just sparkled at the IBA World Amateur Championships back in April.

While this year's Olympics would have come too early for Burnside's Kid Gloves, Gray was seen as a potential medal threat for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Trained by Peter Harrison, the 18-year-old has had the benefit of sparring with Scott as he bids to start his professional career with a victory, and says he has no regrets over turning pro and joining the star-studded Morrison Promotions stable.

He said: "I feel like I achieved quite a bit in my Amateur career, and boxing at the World Amateur Championships in Azerbaijan was a high point, but there were a lot of politics in the Amateurs and, while the Olympics maybe came too soon for me, the Commonwealths are still almost two years away.

"So, when I got the opportunity to turn pro, I decided the time was right. To be looking at making my debut at the Kelvin Hall – when you consider the great names who have boxed there, like Jim Watt – is fantastic. To be on the undercard of Scott Harrison's comeback is also pretty special, and I just can't wait to get it on tomorrow."

Not many professional novices get the opportunity to train for their first professional fight with a twice former world champion, and Gray says his sparring with Harrison Jnr, combined with the watchful tutelage of Harrison Snr, has provided the perfect platform into the professional game for him.

The speed and accuracy of his orthodox work are highly impressive, and Gray looks tailor-made for the pro game and, possibly, a body-puncher of some renown in the making.

The fight prospect said: "I am really lucky to have had the chance to spar with Scott. For a novice like me to be in the gym every day training with someone like Scott is fantastic.

"Then, obviously, you have Peter, who helped mould Scott into a world champion. So to have the benefit of all that exper-ience is hard to beat.

"I am not going to go shouting about doing this or that in the pros, but to have the kind of base I do is something I am determined to use to my advantage."