America-bound Henry Wharton emerged from a lather of sweat and steam and declared 'that's better'.

The York king of the ring underwent his first sparring session in the build-up to his United States debut as a light-heavyweight in Atlantic City on March 28.

Wharton is to fight North Carolina's Charles Franklin Edmondson on the undercard of the Lennox Lewis' defence of his World Boxing Council Heavyweight crown against Shannon Briggs.

With just over three weeks to go to his long-awaited comeback Wharton took the first sparring steps at his purpose-built gymnasium at his home between York and Tadcaster against Heworth cruiseweight Chris Woollass.

It was the first time Wharton had traded punches with anyone in ten months since his third crack at the super-middleweight crown ended in a points defeat by then EBC 12 stone champion Robin Reid.

Said Wharton, who at the age of 30 is seeking to rebuild his career at the heavier division: "You can do all the pad-work and bag-work you want.

"But there's nothing like sparring and it was good to get back in there against an opponent again."

Both Wharton and his trainer Gary Atkin are now awaiting video tapes of his new opponent Edmondson, the replacement for Washington's Roland Pelt who blanched at the prospect of tackling the York warrior after seeing footage of Wharton in action.

Woolass, at over six feet tall, provided the perfect opening sparring partner, but Wharton is also expected to trade blows with his Hard 'N' Fast stable-mates Denzil Browne and Michael Gale as the countdown ticks away to his first professional 'hit' in Atlantic City.

He also revealed that he and Atkin are to fly out to America on March 23, slightly earlier than they originally planned, at the request of the promoters who want to give Wharton maximum exposure time in the States.

"They want us over to there to get used to things and get acclimatised," said Wharton, who is increasingly enthusiastic about training and sparring at what he insists is his more natural fighting weight.

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