By Chris McKenna, courtesy of The Daily Star

BRITISH boxing is fighting fit at the moment and it could be set for a further boost.

A new promoter and – more importantly – added boxing on terrestrial television in this country is on its way.

Earlier this year it was revealed that ITV was considering returning to the sport on a regular basis with up to 20 shows per year.

Starsport understands that could now be as early as November as former BT TV chief Marc Watson ploughs on with plans to bring ex-music mogul Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series to the UK.

Watson and PBC want to run a show in the UK by the end of 2016, and they are currently trying to negotiate deals to make it happen with the first show to be broadcast on ITV4.

Former world cruiserweight and heavyweight champion David Haye is one name they have held talks with in recent weeks to headline their big opening night.

Haymon currently has four UK fighters – Carl Frampton, Lee Selby, James DeGale and Amir Khan – but none of those are realistically going to headline a UK-based show this year.

WBA featherweight champion Frampton is due to face Leo Santa Cruz in a huge rematch that looks set to take place Stateside while Lee Selby – IBF title holder in the same division – is tied into a Sky Sports contract with Eddie Hearn for one more bout.

IBF super-middleweight champion DeGale is heading to America for a unification fight with WBC title holder Badou Jack while Amir Khan is out with a hand injury.

Heavyweight Haye offers a lot for PBC but mainly he is a name known to the wider public.

He has generated large audiences on fringe channel Dave and the negotiations would explain why Haye – who was due to fight Shannon Briggs in September – has gone quiet since his last outing in May.

There is still no deal done though so PBC are in a race against time if they want their UK debut in 2016.

They also have yet to get the green light from Haymon, but his model to change boxing in America by buying airtime on TV is not working well with reports of his financial backers losing millions so far.

But if more boxing can come to terrestrial TV here that will help the sport grow in this country.

Around 1.9m tuned into ITV when Carl Frampton stopped Chris Avalos in five rounds back in February 2015 which ended a six-year absence for boxing on the channel.

Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions recently signed a deal with Channel 5 and their second show is on October 21 in Scotland when Josh Taylor faces Dave Ryan.

Now a regular return from ITV would offer another avenue for exposure.

ITV recently registered ‘ITV Box Office’ with Ofcom, which could be a pay-per-view arm of the channel’s boxing coverage.

Currently there are 14 British world champions, but some are unknown to those who don’t follow the sport avidly because fights don’t feature on terrestrial channels.