Marcus Morrison faces Emanuele Blandamura on Sky Sports in Rome

Marcus Morrison chases his fifth win on the trot when he takes on Emanuele Blandamura in Rome on Thursday night at 8pm.

Morrison (20-3, 14 KOs) faces Blandamura for the WBC silver international middleweight title at the Stadio Nicola Pietrangeli, live on Sky Sports.

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The 26-year-old lost three out of five fights between March 2017 and June 2018 but the Mancunian has bounced back with four victories, two on points and two inside the distance.

However, Morrison, whose last four opponents had a combined 133 losses and just 19 wins between them, will face a step up in class against the Italian veteran.

The local hero is not a renowned puncher, with just five of his 29 victories coming inside the distance, but he previously held the European title and last year challenged for the WBA belt.

Blandamura fell short against Ryota Murata in his world title tilt in April 2018 when he was stopped in eight rounds by the Japanese fighter in Yokohama but has since returned to winning ways with two points victories.

The 39-year-old is probably best remembered by British fight fans for his 2014 clash with Billy Joe Saunders when he was handed his first defeat in the pro ranks via an eighth-round TKO in Manchester.

Belfast cruiserweight Tommy McCarthy (14-2, 7 KOs) will take on Francesco Cataldo on the undercard after original opponent Fabio Turchi withdrew on Wednesday.

Cataldo (7-5, 2 KOs) was narrowly beaten when he challenged for the Italian title two years ago and returns to the ring after losing to Frenchman Aboulaye Diane on the road in March.