NEWBRIDGE lightweight Gavin Rees has been handed the chance to become Gwent's third and Wales' fourth world boxing champion.

The big-punching 25-year-old has been matched with Scot-land's Martin Watson for the vacant WBU crown at York Hall, Bethnall Green, London, on April 1.

But though Rees won't look at it this way, one really has to question the validity of most boxers who win a WBU belt being able to call themselves a world champion.

Rees was once a genuine world super-featherweight title contender, missing out on WBO world title bid in America in 2004 when found to be too overweight at a pre-fight check to safely make the limit in time for the contest.

He has also three times missed out on WBU world super-featherweight title bids, twice in 2003 when then champion Kevin Lear pulled out injured and again when an injury to Rees himself forced him to miss a date with new champion Michael Gomez.

Rees remains unbeaten as a professional, winning all 23 fights, 12 inside the distance, and returned to the ring after an 18 months absence (12 through suspension) at the Newport Centre earlier this month to stop journeyman Daniel Thorpe in round five of a six-rounder.

But he has had only a couple of fights as a lightweight and has not really proved himself at the 9st 9lb limit.

His opponent, Watson, is ranked only the eighth lightweight in Britain, the 24-year-old from Coatbridge having had just 15 professional fights, winning 12 (six inside the distance), losing two and drawing one.

The Celtic champion's biggest fight to date was a British title eliminator against England's Steve Murray when defeated by the narrowest of points margins over ten rounds after being put down in the first round.

Murray subsequently went on to be stopped in seven rounds in his bid for Graham Earl's British title.

Attempts to make a match for the WBU lightweight title have been fraught with difficulties in recent times.

Firstly Gomez was due to fight Willie Limond, then Limond was matched with Murray, then Murray was paired with Watson and now Rees and Murray are set to meet.

Cwmbran's Gary Lockett became Wales' latest world champion when he KO'd late replacement Gilbert Eastman for the WBU middleweight crown at Newport on March 11.

Swansea's Enzo Maccarinelli is the WBU world cruiserweight champion while the one universally acclaimed of Wales' world champions is the great Joe Calzaghe, the WBO and IBF world super-middleweight champion.