NEW European light-welterweight Thai boxing champion Richard Cadden has got his sights on another world title shot.

The York-based 29-year-old beat world number four and French number one Djamel Yacouben in front of a packed Leeds Town Hall on Sunday night to claim the WAKO-Pro title. He is now looking to start the groundwork for another attempt at the world title next year, having narrowly missed out earlier this year because of a nasty cut.

He said: "Given the opportunity, I will certainly step up for a world title shot. I was unfortunate to get stopped last time out because of a cut.

"Hopefully with these fights in the autumn and being back in Bangkok I will build up my reputation and get my face in people's minds so they will remember me."

A quiet summer is on the cards for the Acomb fighter before stepping up a gear in September in preparation of his next fight in Thailand in October, followed by a match against UK number two Mike Showers in November.

But for now it's a case of revelling in the glory of Sunday's triumph, and recovering from an eye injury that flared up after the bout.

He said: "I am obviously over the moon.

"It was a very tentative start because I was respectful of Djamel's stature and his reputation. He was ranked fourth in the world and you don't get to that sort of level without being a big hitter.

"I found him very awkward to fight but then I started dropping into my gameplan and started using the long knee and driving those knees through.

"In the end it was my fitness and determination that came into play.

"The injury does take the shine off a little bit but at the end of the day I have still achieved my goal and I'm still European champion."

Cadden had more than just the Acomb postcode literally behind him on his shorts but also a following of more than 120 York voices urging him on among the 1,000 strong crowd.

He said: "It was a fantastic following - the support was excellent. You start picking out individual voices in the end. It was the first time my family had come in five years and I lost that time so it was great to see them afterwards and be able to share that with them."

Updated: 11:35 Tuesday, June 28, 2005