FAMILY man Joe Hayes will bank on his monastic lifestyle paying dividends when he relaunches his professional boxing career at iconic York Hall tonight.

Hayes, the father of three boys, steps back into the ring to fight young Latvian hitter Zaurs Sadhivos after a fractured elbow forced him to put his burgeoning career on ice for 15 months.

The 33-year-old welterweight, who joined the paid ranks two years ago, rattled off six fights without defeat before suffering the injury that left him feeling as if he had been struck by a "thunderbolt".

Now he is determined to make up for lost time in front of an army of travelling supporters in London – his wife, Kate, among them.

Preparing for his final pre-fight workout at trainer Steve Bendall's gym, Hayes told the Daily Echo: "I’ve put the effort into training camp and sparred loads of rounds with top class fighters.

"I was still in the gym when I was injured, running and doing all the fitness work.

"I’m not a drinker. I have kids and I’m not into going out and all that sort of stuff.

"I eat well and always stay in the gym. If I have a good win this weekend I could get a phone call next week to fight for a British title.

"You must be constantly fit and in shape."

Hayes has his own carpentry business – a boon when it comes to squeezing in his six training sessions per week leading up to fight night.

His sons Frankie and Charlie are eight and seven, respectively, with baby Joey – "I can already see he's the one who's going to be a fighter", jokes Hayes – due to turn two in April.

"Running my own business is stressful sometimes, but I can take plenty of time off for training," says the chiselled Hayes, who is at pains to express his gratitude for Kate's understanding of her husband's demanding lifestyle.

Hayes, a fervent Cherries fan who sports the club's badge on his fight shorts, leads an especially Spartan existence in fight week.

He even avoids "glugging back water" in order to "shrink my stomach" and remain within the 66.7kg welterweight limit.

Hayes' refusal to accede to his elbow injury saw him fight through the pain and draw his last contest in December 2015. When he returned to sparring the problem stopped him in his tracks.

"I hit someone on top of the head and it felt like a thunderbolt was travelling up my arm," says Hayes.

Now in tip-top condition he will fulfill a long-held ambition by fighting at York Hall.

And he is convinced his combative style will overpower Sadhivos, 10 years his junior – to send his 100 plus fans into raptures.

"I’m not the tallest welterweight – but I am very strong for the weight," adds Hayes.

"I'm a come forward fighter, I put people on the back foot.

"I’m looking forward to getting back to boxing – and back to winning."