Tommy Hyde believes his first 10-round bout will move him closer to the fights that matter most.

Hyde, a super middleweight prospect, will return to his hometown of Cork, Ireland, against Mick Hall for a scheduled 10 rounds on Saturday. In September, he won a split decision over Patrick Allotey, his sixth straight eight-round bout.

Hyde, 13-0 (8 KOs), awaits his moment to get the big fights and to compete for world titles. Graduating from eight-rounders puts him that much closer to fighting in 12-round championship bouts and puts him in the running to land marquee bouts against fellow prospects and top contenders.

“You have to keep winning,” Hyde told BoxingScene. “The most important thing is to improve in the gym every day. If you win the fight, the right opportunity will come.”

This will be Hyde’s fourth time fighting in Ireland. He now trains with Lee Beard in Manchester, England, and for this camp, the 26-year-old Hyde sparred former contender Lyndon Arthur. At one point, he was training at Churchill Boxing in Los Angeles, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being so far from home.

“I am a homebird,” Hyde said. “You’re away from home, and it can be lonely. Boxing is [already] a lonely game.”

Hall, 15-3 (2 KOs), from Preston, Lancashire, England, is coming off a five-year hiatus from professional boxing. He was last seen being stopped by Denzel Bentley, who won the interim WBO middleweight title earlier this month. This will be the heaviest weight that Hall – who previously campaigned mostly at middleweight – has competed at.

The bout signals not just a homecoming for Hyde but also a chance to position himself as a capable 10-round boxer, even though he doesn’t plan on this fight going to the final bell.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t go 10 rounds,” Hyde said. “I have been ready for 10 rounds for a while now, it’s just getting the opportunity to fight.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.