When boxer Ben Smith steps into the ring for his first professional fight at the end of the month, handling the pressure should not be a problem.

The former schoolboy champ once had to fight in front of the whole school when, after winning the NABC title against Nick Tipler, his opponent demanded a rematch and Smith’s Holmer Green School stepped in to provide the venue.

Smith said: “That was really scary. I had to fight in front of the whole school in the main hall. I said to my dad that if I had lost I would never be able to go back to school. I was thinking ‘please, please let me win the fight’. I was really worried about losing in front of the whole school.”

Smith won though, posting another impressive victory on his junior CV which saw him win the ABA Junior title after twice being runner-up. He also captained England and represented his country several times in a sparkling junior career.

Now the stakes are different for Wycombe’s 19-year-old, who was paraded in front of Wycombe Wanderers fans at Saturday’s match against Northampton.

He has turned professional, joining an elite band of boxers signed to the legendary Frank Warren and on Friday, October 30, he faces his first fight as a pro at Harrow Leisure Centre.

It is a contest he should win. It’s against a journeyman – a fighter who goes from bout to bout for the money offering professionals ring experience in order to eke out a living.

Smith said: “Winning the fight shouldn’t be a problem. He’s not going to be technically as good as me but there’s always that risk. I’m the better boxer, I know that and I will have faced much better opponents in my amateur days. He will be awkward, he’s taller than me but I can unravel him.”

But that expectancy and the need to win brings pressure.

Smith said: “I have to win. If I fall at the first hurdle where do I go from there? I must win this and I have no doubt that I will. There is pressure. I have got to entertain. Being signed with Frank Warren is brilliant but it puts extra expectation on me.”

However, this is a situation Smith is happy to be in.

He said: “I do well under pressure – it brings the best out of me.

“I have been waiting for my professional debut since I was eight. I can’t wait for this. I just want to be there in the ring and the closer it gets the more excited I get.”

The build-up has been going well for the youngster who comes across as too nice to be a boxer.

He said: “A lot of people have said that about me but I am a different person when I enter the ring. A switch goes off inside me and I get that tunnel vision.”

He is delighted to be part of Team Tibbs, the crop of talent put together by Mark and Jimmy Tibbs.

The former Marlow ABC member and High Wycombe ABC fighter spends three days a week training at West Ham where the fighters don’t go sparingly on his boyish good looks.

He added: “I’ve been sparring with some tough men and they don’t take any mercy on you. The preparation has been going really well. I feel ready to go now. My aim is to be world champion and to fight in Vegas. I want to be the British champion in five or six years’ time and this fight is my first step.”