Boxing:Unbeaten Carl Froch claims he is ready for a world title shot and vows to prove his point against Robin Reid tomorrow night.
The pair meet in a British super-middleweight title bout at the Nottingham Arena and victory for Froch would leave him as the number one challenger for Joe Calzaghe's WBC belt.
A fight between the pair seems an unlikely proposition, however, with undisputed champion Calzaghe angling for a light heavyweight super-fight with Bernard Hopkins next spring.
But Froch insists he will be prepared for whoever is next, should he beat former WBC champion Reid.
"I'm ready for a world title eliminator," the Nottingham fighter nicknamed 'The Cobra' said. "I'm 30 years old now, been a pro for nearly six years. I'm confident I would have no problems taking on anybody in the world.
"Every fight I have I try to step it up to the next level, I've beaten every mandatory challenger for the British title and I've beaten them all in style, and the next step was (Sergey) Tatevosyan in my last fight who I annihilated in two rounds.
"That was a step up but I found it really easy."
Of his 36-year-old opponent he added: "Robin Reid is a good fighter, strong, tough and can punch hard because that is the last thing a fighter loses with age - his power.
"I used to tune in to watch Reid fight and I enjoyed his fights. He was someone I looked up to.
"I thought he beat Calzaghe when they fought, but he lost a split decision and went downhill a bit from there.
"I'm going to beat Reid in style, unlike Calzaghe, then I'll be number one contender for Calzaghe's WBC title.
"He's talking about stepping up to light-heavy and if that's the case it's not going to happen. But I become number one contender for the WBC title in any case."
Veteran Reid was in bullish mood despite few people backing him to make an impact on the unbeaten Froch - who has a record of 17 knockouts in his 21 straight professional wins.
And he vowed to be far sharper than when he was outclassed by Jeff Lacy in Florida just over two years ago.
"I wasn't in the right frame of mind for the Lacy fight, I had a lot of problems," Reid told the Nottingham Evening Post. "You will see the real Robin Reid. I'm 110% mentally prepared for battle."
"I've been there and done it," he added. "I don't need to box as I have business interests outside the ring.
"But I never fought for the British title, I went straight for the world belt.
"So this is my chance to win a Lonsdale belt - my chance to beat Carl Froch."