Nikki Bascome is raring to make his long-awaited return to the ring, as professional boxing looks set to be hosted in Bermuda for the first time in more than a 18 months.

Having secured a unanimous points decision in a super-lightweight bout against Ryan Oliver at the Fairmont Southampton in January 2020, Bascome has been forced through the global pandemic to wait for an opportunity to build on his record of nine professional wins from ten bouts.

However, his frustrating wait finally appears to be coming to end with the 30-year-old included among an Epic Entertainment promotion fight card, alongside fellow Bermudian professionals Andre Lambe and Mikey Parsons, scheduled for November 6.

“It’s been a long forced layoff and I’m just really looking forward to getting back in the ring on November 6,” said Bascome, who also saw a rescheduled bout against Jamaican Devon Moncriffe in March ultimately curtailed. “It’s been really tough. It’s the longest time I’ve had not fighting competitively and it’s been a tough challenge.

“However, I’ve still been doing a lot and I’m always in the gym training hard to stay in shape. “Although I’ve been training constantly, it’s not the same as a full fight training camp. That will be starting in the coming weeks and that’s when it will a hard slog of pure training, focusing on myself and the fight preparation.

“I’m raring to get back in the ring. Everyone has been coming up to me over the past year or so asking when I’ll be fighting again and now finally I have a fight to work towards.”

While no opponent or venue for the event has been confirmed, Bascome is adamant he has the skill set to adapt to whoever he ends up facing.

“I think you’ll always see the same style from me as a fighter but with every fight you try to add little things and improve,” he added. “The most important thing is to be able to adapt to each individual opponent.

“That adaptability is key. I’m always most likely to be the smaller fighter in a bout and so I have to be able to have different skills to be able to get the victory.

“Once I find out who my opponent is going to be, it will be time to get a game plan and strategy in place for that particular fighter.”

While Lambe has not had to face as long of an absence from the ring, having last fought in July — in which he extended his professional record to 2-0 in a first-round demolition of South African Dominique Williams on his overseas debut — he is relishing the chance to step out again in front of a home crowd.

“I’m really excited to be fighting in Bermuda again,” said Lambe, who made a scintillating start to life in the paid ranks with a first-round stoppage of Canadian Mat Hinchey. “It’s been a long time and it’s great to have a fight night to look forward to on island because it’s always exciting to fight in front of a home crowd.

“I’ve maintained a high level of training and I’m always ready to fight. My official training camp started this week and that gives me around eight weeks to be at my best.

“I have put massive expectations on myself before any fight, but I’ll be aiming to do what I’ve done in my previous fights and try to put on a show. ”Obviously I’ll be aiming to maintain my 100 per cent record.“

While he has impressed in his two professional bouts to date, doubts about his endurance linger, having not been extended in seeing off Hinchey and Williams inside the first round.

However, the 25-year-old has no such concerns, content in knowledge that he prepares fully to go the distance in every bout.

“I never go into a fight expecting a quick stoppage and it will be the same for this fight,” he added. “I always train hard to make sure I’m ready for a long bout, but so far I’ve not been tested like that in the ring.

“However, I’m definitely prepared for that scenario and I’m always ready for a tough fight, no matter the opponent.”

Parsons, meanwhile, will aiming to secure his first win in the paid ranks, having suffered a unanimous points defeat by Canadian Daniel Roach in his professional debut.