Thursday 13 October 2016 18:51, UK
Trainer Dave Coldwell is taking nothing for granted ahead of Tony Bellew’s first defence of his WBC belt and is wary of a possible giant-killing.
Bellew will defend his cruiserweight world title, which he won by sensationally stopping Ilunga Makabu back in May, against BJ Flores in Liverpool's Echo Arena this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
The fast-talking and hard-hitting Californian challenger will be hoping to cause an upset and steal the title away from Bellew, and Coldwell believes that it is a similar situation to when his charge went up against Makabu.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, he said: "One thing we must understand is that Flores is an underrated fighter, he has a very good jab and boxing brain, while he throws a powerful right and left hook.
"The history of boxing is littered with upsets and Flores has a chance to cause one himself, that's the beauty of sport.
"It's just like a giant-killing in football when one of the big guns has a bad day and loses to a team a few divisions below - it can happen to the very best.
"The thing with BJ, he is in the same position that we were in before Makabu, coming off a couple of failed world title shots and this is his last attempt, he's an underdog like we were and has got to put it all on the line."
Despite Flores being fairly muted in Tuesday's media press conference, Coldwell still believes his previous trash talking suggests that he is confident of stopping the Liverpool champion.
"For two years he's taunted Tony and because of the way he has talked, he believes that he will come over and stop 'Bomber'. Having self-belief is a major factor for any fighter," Coldwell said.
"We are very confident despite this and if they both perform to the best of their ability then Tony wins hands down. That's why it's essential that the best Tony Bellew turns up on Saturday."
Watch Tony Bellew defend his WBC cruiserweight world title against BJ Flores live on Saturday night, from 8.00pm, on Sky Sports 2.
