Liverpool welterweight Neil Perkins has more reasons than most to covet a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Melbourne.

Perkins will go to Australia as favourite to crown his glittering amateur career after becoming only the third Briton to win a World Championship medal in November.

Success would more than make up for his previous near-misses, when controversial selection procedures ruled him out of both the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the last Olympics.

And it would provide vindication of his dogged battle against a bad wrist injury which ruled him out of action for almost a year and required surgery to enable him to box again.

But all those factors pale into insignificance for Perkins when placed against the fight waged by his baby daughter, Olivia, for survival.

Olivia was born in the summer with a serious heart defect and required a major operation within weeks of her birth. She will face more surgery next spring.

Perkins, who dedicated his World Championship bronze medal to his daughter, said: "It just makes me more determined to succeed for her and make the time I spend away from her worthwhile.

"It completely stops me worrying about boxing but when I am in the ring I have just got to try to blank things out. If I started to think about it I would go to pieces."

Commonwealth success placed squarely in perspective, Perkins is the most likely of England's strong 11-man squad to reach the top of the podium.

A two-time ABA middleweight champion, Perkins has campaigned at welterweight since the selectors' decision to promote his rival Gary Barr in the 75kg category in the Olympic qualifiers.

Then his bad wrist injury stopped his new campaign in its tracks and threatened once again to scupper his hopes of representing his country at a major Games.

However, the 25-year-old from Liverpool's Kirkdale Boxing Club has bounced back emphatically this year to ensure his place on the plane Down Under.

He registered seven stoppage wins from nine contests as he claimed a hat-trick of multi-nation gold medals over the summer, including the EU Championships in Sardinia.

Named England's amateur boxer of the year, Perkins went to Mianyang City in China for the World Championships and produced three stunning displays to earn bronze, but still managed to return home disappointed.

"I really thought I was on my way to the final but the occasion got to me in the semis and I didn't box as well as I could," he said.

"But when I look back I realise how big an achievement it was and hopefully now I can go on from here and win a big one."

The extra exposure of Commonwealth Games success is something Perkins, who is employed by Liverpool City Council as part of their elite sporting scholarship programme, clearly relishes.

"It will mean everything because it will be a clear step up from the things I have won before and it will definitely get me more coverage," he added.

"I don't think there will be any pressure on me because people still don't really know me at the moment. But having said that I do tend to box well under pressure so it doesn't matter either way.

"I wouldn't say I go there as the clear favourite because the Canadians and Australians usually come up with some good fighters and you never know who the Africans are going to produce.

"But I definitely see myself as having a big chance and I know I won't be happy unless I come back with a gold medal."