Ricky Hatton heads into the final 48 hours before his career-defining super-fight against Floyd Mayweather positively glowing with the belief that he will soon reign as the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.
Hatton clearly got the better of yesterday's predictably chaotic press conference which degenerated into a shoving match at the end of the obligatory head to head photo session.
And Hatton insisted: 'I think Floyd preys on that confidence and that's why he did it. I think it'll hurt him more than me. I'll go away and forget about it now but I think he might be seething.'
Mayweather sought to shrug off the incident afterwards but appeared strangely muted when asked whether his rival had got the better of him. 'We'll see,' answered Mayweather. 'Look at my hand - do I look like I'm shaking?'
Evidence of how Hatton is hyped up for the contest was encapsulated in the throat-slitting gesture he made towards his opponent once the pair had been finally pulled apart.
'He leaned on me a little bit I just leaned back on him and he spat his dummy out,' said Hatton.
'He isn't f**king pushing me back.
'There's a time for me to laugh and joke and be my usual sarcy self but the fight's two days away now and I've done my laughing and joking.
'When I leaned back on him he said, 'don't touch me, don't touch me'. I gave him a little bit of the 'you're dead' gesture then I smiled at him. If he's annoyed at that, wait until the bell rings.'
Hatton spoke at length during the official section of the press conference, chiding Roger Mayweather for his rambling speech which he said he 'made the winter shorter', and mocking Mayweather's own view of his abilities.
'I can't believe the odds aren't longer,' said Hatton. 'I'm a little fat, beer-drinking Englishman who's fought no-one and been over-protected and fought a load of has-beens.
'And yet the betting's been so close. Personally, I think you've got nothing to worry about Floyd. I think you'll be alright.'
Earlier, Roger Mayweather had attempted to underline his belief in his nephew's ability in his normal bizarre fashion, insisting Hatton's only chance would come if he arrived in the ring well-equipped.
'The best way to deal with my nephew is you've got to use a fishing pole. You get in there with a fishing pole and you may stand a chance.
'But if you ain't got no fishing pole and you come in with your face, I ain't going to tell you what's going to happen.'
Hatton's camp are clearly leaving nothing to chance and seeking to seize every possible psychological advantage possible.
To that end they have nominated well-respected trainer Freddie Roach as their man who will be present to ensure Mayweather wraps his hands correctly.
Roach trained Oscar De La Hoya against Mayweather and has a long-running feud with Roger Mayweather, who derided Roach as a 'punchbag' - an unpleasant slur given Roach suffers from Parkinson's disease.
Roach said: 'They know I'm really strict on wrapping hands. They just want a level playing field and they want me to watch to make sure they don't do anything illegal.
'Maybe they think it'll give Ricky a bit of an edge. I don't think so, but if it does I'm glad for him.
'Me and Floyd are okay but the last time we had big arguments over how the hands were taped. I've known Floyd since he was five years old. But his father and uncle and everyone, they hate my guts.'
