Aberdeen boxer Darren Traynor believes he is ready for the biggest fight of his career.
The 29-year-old will face Ryan Walsh for the British featherweight title at York Hall in London tomorrow night.
Traynor was called in as a late replacement to take on Cromer fighter Walsh, who won the title last September when he beat Samir Mouneimne.
The Englishman and his brother, Liam, the reigning British super-featherweight champion, are the first twins to hold British titles simultaneously.
Traynor has won all 11 of his professional fights, with five coming by way of knockout, but accepts this will be his most difficult challenge to date.
He said: “The fight was offered to me at short notice but there was no way I was going to refuse it. The opportunity was too good to turn down.
“I feel I am ready to go. I can’t wait to get weighed in and to start really looking forward to the fight. I feel like I am in my peak years.
“It will be the biggest fight of my career and the toughest but I can’t wait.”
It would be an inspiring story if Traynor were to complete his dream of becoming a British champion. The Aberdonian was drinking heavily by the age of 12 and almost lost an arm after being stabbed in a street fight when he was 14.
Traynor, the first Briton to win the famous Golden Gloves of America tournament, believes that discovering boxing helped turn his life around and he now hopes to rise to the challenge on the most important night of his career.
He said: “It would be amazing to become a British champion. I would be over the moon. I know how tough it will be and how hard I will have to fight. But I have overcome bigger challenges in my life than Ryan Walsh. I still have the scar from the stabbing and it reminds me of the different path my life could have taken.
“I am a different person and I have worked hard to get where I am today.”
Walsh has won 19 of his 21 fights with his only defeat coming in October 2013 when Lee Selby retained his British and Commonwealth featherweight titles. His only draw came a year prior against Dundee’s Ronnie Clark, with whom Traynor has been sparring.
Traynor added: “He looks like he has an awkward style but I just need to focus on myself and stick to my gameplan. I just need to try to outbox him.”