ST HELENS super middleweight Martin Murray is back home refreshed and invigorated from a family holiday in Mexico and ready to hit the new year running – inside and outside the ring.

The 33-year-old Fingerpost fighter has put behind him the bitter disappointment of losing his fourth world title bid on a split decision to Arthur Abraham in Germany and is already back in the gym in preparation for a big fight in early April.

And outside of the ring Murray is developing the career and vocational path he wants to tread once his boxing ends - and has bought premises he wishes to turn into a gym.

He has started getting his thoughts down for his autobiography and has made it his mission to help steer troubled youngsters back on the straight and narrow, using his own experience from a decade ago to guide them.

But his primary focus for now is getting himself ready and in a position to secure another world title shot.

Early discussions are expected to concluded this week, with the talk that Murray could face a big domestic bout with Liverpudlian Paul Smith – a two-time challenger for Abraham's belt, who has also been in with James DeGale, George Groves and Andre Ward.

Murray is determined to bounce back into the ring with a big fight to keep things bubbling.

He said: "We are looking at Paul Smith in April – but I will speak with Eddie Hearn on Wednesday.

"Me and Paul know each other, I am a fighter, he is a fighter and we will fight.

"I would be confident going into that that I would win.It would be me going straight back into a biggish fight, which I have never done in all the previous ones.

"I am happy that it is keeping me up there.

"Nothing is decided yet and Eddie will have a few options for me."

One name that has suddenly come on Murray's radar at world title level is Italian Giovanni De Carolis who surprisingly took the WBA title from Vincent Feigenbutz earlier this month.

Murray has already sounded him out, but De Carolis has a rematch clause with the German.

"I just thought I would text him and try, but if Feigenbutz wins, he won't be leaving Germany - you don’t get them out of there because when they do they get beat!

"Feigenbutz is over-rated; he is good, decent but not exceptional.

"I am hoping that De Carolis wins the rematch and then I would be hopeful of getting him over in a big fight. I would try and get that at Langtree Park.

"I have just got to stay positive, I am back in the gym and working hard."

Murray faces a slog again of trying to get himself in a position where he becomes the mandatory challenger for one of the titles.

He is keenly aware that he has had to go on the road for every challenge so far. To do that he would have to knock over some big opponents, but he craves the big domestic battles - the ones that never came when he, Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin were leading British middleweights.

"If I had the belt I wouldn't go for easy defences - I would fight the big domestic fighters.

"That is what I grew up on and that is what has been missing and I would love to be part of that, and making these fights happen at super middleweight," he said.