Daniel Dubois has been accused of resorting to dirty tricks ahead of his rematch with Fabio Wardley.
Dubois climbed off the canvas twice in the opening three rounds of the Brits' brutal first clash in May. He went on to dominate, leaving Wardley battered and bruised when the slugfest was finally stopped in the 11th round. Dubois was crowned heavyweight world champion for the second time and will defend his crown in tonight's sequel.
Illegal shots claim
But Wardley's manager, Michael Ofo, has claimed the Londoner was guilty of throwing illegal shots five months ago.
"I believe Fabio is in a better place than he was and he's ready to go to war," he said. "The first fight was an amazing fight but there was also a lot going on in that fight that has not been talked about enough. The MMA rugby tackling; there was a lot leading with the head and a lot of rabbit punches. We are going to be applying a lot of pressure to make sure those things are not going to be happening."
Wardley's return
Wardley reigned for only 173 days before being relieved of his WBO belt. He immediately insisted on a rematch and will walk to the ring 161 days after his first career defeat. Doubts have been raised over his decision to return so soon, but Wardley said: "I gave myself four weeks away from it all. A whole lot is made of needing time off to recover but I know how I felt after the fight.
"I was wondering why I wasn't back in the gym and that we needed to hurry it along. There was a lot of cosmetic damage but it's heavyweight boxing. We're big men and we're going to end up with a few bumps and bruises. This feels like my more natural place, being the underdog who took the second fight too soon. That's been the story my whole career, so I'm comfortable being back here."
"A loss is never part of the plan but the thought is worse than the reality."
"I was never going to get through unscathed, undefeated like Floyd Mayweather, because I want to be in there with the best guys. And that jeopardy leaves lots of room for things to go wrong. I know where I went wrong, it didn't take long to realise where I messed up. We've made changes and adjustments for this fight and we'll implement them on Saturday night.
"I was over-zealous and confident in my power in the first fight. I probably believed too much that the right hand would land, but that's easy to adjust. I have to be controlled and not just march forward and throw right hands. But if someone wants a war with me then I'm happy to oblige. Often I'm the instigator and once I smell blood, I'm getting him out of there."
Dubois ready to defend
Dubois will start as the favourite to deliver a repeat performance on home soil in London. And he added: "I'm ready to go to war. Of course I respect him, but I'm just ready to go out to battle. I'm feeling stronger than in the first fight. I'm grounded and ready to do my job. First I need to get through Saturday and then it's on to bigger and better things."
