Ricky Hatton remains as unfazed as he prepares for a fight which could finish with him being indisputably crowned as the best pound for pound boxer in the world.
And Hatton insists that he knows what’s coming when he faces up to Floyd Mayweather on 8 December in Las Vegas.
‘I think I know what Floyd is up to tactically,’ insists Hatton. ‘He's got a wonderful defence and is good at making you miss. He tries to make his opponents punch themselves out.
‘But I intend to put the pressure on him from the start. I won't waste too many punches in the first six rounds and leave plenty of gas in the tank. I will use my speed to come at him from different angles.’
Hatton has backed up his words before. He was just as much of an outside bet on the Sunday morning in June 2005 when he stepped out at the first bell with the legendary Kostya Tszyu in the opposite corner.
Hatton was always convinced that victory would be his, and he duly completed his unveiling as a worldwide pound-for-pound talent by forcing the Australian to retire on his stool at the end of the 11th round.
Next up, after a difficult defence against the awkward Carlos Maussa, came America. The US public warmed to his self-deprecatory public displays in the build-up to relatively low-key wins over Luis Collazo and Juan Urango.
By the time Hatton returned to the Las Vegas Strip to face the highly-regarded Mexican warrior Jose Luis Castillo this summer, it was his pale face which was illuminating most of the Strip's neon billboards.
A savage shot to the liver in round four earned Hatton his biggest victory to date and sent his extraordinary travelling army of 10,000 fans into uproar. He had truly arrived in the big-time.
It is easy to look back to find signs of early potential. But while the pound-for-pound lists are perhaps pushing it, it is fair to say that Hatton always did exude star quality.
He dazzled as an amateur, winning a world junior championships bronze medal and an ABA title, and impressed with his rib-bending early professional wins against the likes of Tommy Peacock and Jon Thaxton.
As he reached each new level, Hatton duly excelled. He shrugged off an early propensity to cut and clambered out of a shock first round knockdown to overcome Eamonn Magee in 2002.
Hatton's upward trajectory continued. By the time he got to the States to face Collazo, his expectations were so high that he expressed disappointment with the manner of his win over the WBA welterweight champion.
Now, for the first time since that close shave, Hatton is returning to the 147lbs limit. But he insists the weight will not be an issue against Mayweather, who won his first world title at super-featherweight.
‘Against Collazo I tried to make myself as big as him which I really wasn't,’ said Hatton. ‘But it won't matter against Floyd because I think I've fought fighters who are naturally bigger than him.
‘Floyd thinks I'm going to try to use my bulk and get rough and unsettle him. But there's method in my madness. I'm not just going to go in there with all guns blazing with no thought for what I'm doing.’
