Mexico's Juan Hernandez arrived in Bangkok yesterday brimming with confidence that he will beat Thailand's Nawaphon Nakornloung in their fight for the vacant WBC flyweight title next weekend.
The bout will be held at Bangkok's Nimibutr Stadium next Saturday at 6pm.
"We have thoroughly studied tapes of Nawaphon's fights. He is a dangerous fighter and I can't underestimate him," Hernandez said through an interpreter.
"I trained on a mountain which is 3,800 feet above the sea level before coming here. I have trained for about 90 rounds and feel confident that I will beat Nawaphon and take the belt to Mexico."
Hernandez, 30, has fought 35 times with a record of 33 wins (24KOs) and two losses.
Earlier, unbeaten Nawaphon expressed his confidence that he would win the title.
"I am well-prepared for the fight. This will be one of the biggest fights of my career," he said.
"I want to win the belt for the Thai fans. I also want to win the title for my father who wants to see me become a world champion."
Nawaphon has an impressive record, having won all his 36 fights with 28 knockouts.
Tickets starting from 100 baht are available at Thai Ticket Major outlets (call 02-262-3838 or visit www.thaiticketmajor.com).
Meanwhile, unbeaten rival world welterweight title-holders Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia each vowed to grab the global spotlight by winning their unification showdown next weekend in New York.
The March 4 match-up of the US fighters at Brooklyn's Barclays Center will be only the third unification bout between unbeaten welterweight champions and the first since Oscar de la Hoya faced Felix Trinidad in 1999. bangkok post/afp