YORK warrior Henry Wharton is bracing himself for a mid-July return to the big time.

A White Roses war with Clinton Woods for the European light-heavyweight title is now on the cards, after the Sheffield star retained his belt with a ninth round stoppage of Norwegian Ole Klemetsen on Saturday.

And Wharton's trainer, Gary Atkin, is hoping to get it on the same bill as Lennox Lewis's next heavyweight world title defence against South African Francis Botha at London's Docklands Arena on July 15.

Atkin is planning to meet with promoter Frank Maloney in the next few days to set up the scrap. He is hoping Maloney, who is also Wharton's manager, will agree to the Woods fight - and that he will stage it on the forthcoming Lewis bill, set to be beamed across the globe on satellite television.