Jeremias Ponce is eyeing a "dream" world title fight with undisputed super-lightweight champion Josh Taylor, but not before he promises to knock out Geordie favourite Lewis Ritson in front of his own crowd at the Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle on Saturday night.
'Jere' makes his UK debut sporting an impressive record of 27 wins and no losses - with 17 of those win coming by way of knockout - and has two notable wins on the road, firstly defeating Italian Francesco Lomasto for the IBF Intercontinental title in February 2018, before snatching the IBO title from Rico Mueller in Germany 18 months later.
The undefeated 24-year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina says the return of Ritson's home faithful will only serve to spur him on as he looks to become the latest South American to spring an upset against a Brit.
"I go all out for the win," said Ponce. "I always look for the knockout and I try and leave nothing to chance. This is a huge opportunity for me, if not the biggest in my career. I’ve trained with that mindset, thinking about this being the biggest moment in my career.
"It’s a dream for any boxer to go on and win a world title, and to face a fighter like Josh Taylor would be a dream come true. I’m going to go all out to win and I’m 100% confident that I can add myself to the list of South Americans that have caused upsets in the UK.
"I think Lewis Ritson is a very good boxer. He’s very quick and he has a very high output. We’ve worked hard looking for ways to counter that and I think we’ll be able to do that. Both styles will clash, it will be a great fight.
"I think the Miguel Vazquez fight was just a really bad night for him. But I don’t think it takes anything away from him, I’ve also had bad nights before. It will be a very tough night for both of us. He’s still a really good boxer.
"Having a crowd in the arena will motivate me even more. I’m used to these types of fights. I’ve been the away fighter in Germany when the whole of the crowd was against me and I was the away fighter in Italy when all the fans were against me. I’m used to that and it will spur me on."
Ritson vs. Ponce airs on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, and on DAZN in over 200 other countries across the globe.