Rendall Munroe is ready to shake off the shackles and tear into Scott Quigg on Saturday night.
The city southpaw went face to face with Bury's unbeaten British champion at a press conference in Manchester yesterday.
The pair go head to head for the interim WBA super-bantamweight title at Manchester Arena.
"I'm ready," said Munroe, whose last crack at Quigg ended prematurely in a draw with a bad cut above his right eye following a third-round clash of heads at Manchester Velodrome.
"My trainer (Jason Shinfield) has got me on a leash at the moment, telling me to take my time! Whenever I go into the gym I am hitting the bags harder and he is telling me just to ease back.
"My training camp has been brilliant. The weight is right there and the work that I have been doing with Neil Linford has got me punching a bit harder than I had been doing.
"Jason reckons my footwork is looking better – the whole thing has been another step up."
The one worry among Munroe's followers might be that cut, which required nine stitches to repair on the night back in June. However, it has healed remarkably quickly.
"I've had no problems with it," said the former European and Commonwealth champion.
"I have been wearing a headguard in sparring but I haven't felt any soreness or anything.
"I really believe that by five past nine on Saturday night I will be the interim world champion and will be having a party."
That does not mean the Munroe camp is taking Quigg lightly – far from it. In the build-up, the Leicester man has always spoken respectfully of his opponent.
He knows what he has to do to overcome this latest challenge at a sold-out Arena, where Ricky Hatton tops the bill on his comeback to the ring in front of around 20,000 fans. "I have got to stay positive," said Munroe.
"I need to do what I am good at, put Quigg under pressure, cut down the ring, don't give him any room and make him work.
"I train to the best of my abilities, box to the best of my abilities and I think that is why the fans like me."
Munroe is now going through the final stages of his preparations.
"I'll go back to the gym and tap away at the bags for about six rounds today and I'll have my final weight check" he said.
"I'll have a Bikram yoga session in the evening to stretch out and do nothing at all tomorrow."
The atmosphere will then intensify on Friday with the 4pm weigh-in at Manchester Town Hall – and from that point there is no looking back.
