“He’s moulded me into a horrible fighter, who is a horrible night’s work for anyone,” said British and Commonwealth welterweight champion Harry Scarff.

The 30-year-old boxer has been training at coach Clifton Mitchell’s gym in Derby for 17 years.

Together, they have built a strong partnership that is knocking on the door of a major breakthrough on the global stage.

Scarff faces Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian in Hamburg on 17 May in what will be his final eliminator for a shot at the IBF world title.

“It’s a great relationship, starting with Clifton from 13, all the way until this point now,” Scarff told BBC Radio Derby.

“We understand each other, we know how each other works, it just makes it easy leading into fights like this.”

Mitchell is also responsible for coming up with the nickname “Horrible Harry”, which has stuck after a series of uncompromising, energetic performances.