A HUGE lift has been afforded a York warrior’s bid for success in the gruelling world of Thai-boxing.

Reigning ICO British champion, Danny Harrison-Little will no longer have to juggle his work with trying to keep in peak condition, a balancing act that sometimes plays havoc for preparation for higher-profile contests.

But now the 23-year-old, who is a member of the Legions Thai-boxing Club in Tang Hall, can rest that much easier. He has landed the major bonus of a sponsorship deal for the next year that will allow him to devote himself to full-time training and competition.

Tyre company tyregiant.com, which has York sites in Foss Islands, Layerthorpe and Huntington, have provided a year’s backing for Harrison-Little after several of the company’s representatives were impressed by his capture of the British crown when he fought at the Night of Legions show - the first run by the club - at York Railway Institute earlier this year.

Said Barmby Moor-based Harrison-Little, who has also landed backing from Contech Uk, who are based in Pocklington: “This is a massive development for me.

“It means I can put all my efforts and time into training and getting ready to step up into a better class of bout. It takes all the worry out of me trying to fit in training with full-time work and I’m so delighted to have the backing of both tyregiant.com and Contech Uk.

“Going professional is a big step up, but the sponsorship will pay for travel, and other expenses such as drink supplements and the cost of training.”

Legions club co-founder and chief instructor Dave Phillips said talks had been going on for quite a while to try to secure a deal for Harrison-Little, who is one of several top prospects training at the Tang Hall gym.

He said: “There’s been times when Danny has had to work away and that means he has to try to fit in his training at other gyms, which is not ideal.

“Now with this new sponsorship package he can really focus on what he wants to do in the sport. It’s a big boost for him and for the club as well.”

Harrison-Little has now embarked on his full-time training schedule to ready himself for his first fight of the season next month, which will be followed by his inaugural defence of his ICO British belt against Mikey Wiseman, who is fourth-ranked in the national ratings, at the second Night of The Legions show which will be held again at York RI on November 1.

Details and tickets for the November 1 show are available by visiting the www.legionsgym.co.uk website.