McDonagh’s last outing was a points defeat by Lee Purdy in May but Gavin, who boasts Irish ancestry, believes that the Bermondsey-based Galwegian represents the toughest challenge of his professional career to date.

"My parents are from Ireland and I go back frequently so it's going to be a hard one beating up on him," said Gavin, who is 5-0 in the paid ranks.

"But I'm sure McDonagh won't be feeling the same and it will be on his mind to stop me and make a name for himself.

"McDonagh is experienced, he's beating Michael Gomez and has won and challenged for plenty of domestic titles so it's a great test for me at this stage of my career.

"But I stopped all my opponents in 2009 so I aim to continue in the same manner throughout 2010 and become an exciting attraction like Ricky Hatton and Naseem Hamed."