Tuesday 27 June 2017 17:18, UK
Craig Richards wants to produce an emphatic performance on Saturday night as he looks to continue his rise in the super-middleweight division.
The 27-year-old Londoner will be attempting to extend his unbeaten record on the undercard to Frank Buglioni's British title fight with Ricky Summers this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
'Spider' was last in action in March when he narrowly outpointed Alan Higgins to claim the Southern Area title at London's York Hall and Richards now wants to produce a dominant performance that will lead to more titles later in the year.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, Richards said: "It was a brilliant feeling to get my first title last time out. It was a great atmosphere and was even sweeter to do it in my hometown.
"I personally did not really think that the Higgins fight was close. Even a lot of his friends said to me after that when they watched it back, they didn't think it was that close.
"Regardless of that, I want to win more emphatically this weekend. I'm improving all the time with each camp and with each fight - I'm only getting better.
"Higgins was an unbeaten fighter with nearly double the experience that I had going into the fight, so I'm happy with the win and now I can continue my progression this weekend."
Richards' opponent for Saturday night is yet to be confirmed, but the super-middleweight is confident of continuing his winning run in his hometown.
"The key for me is to keep winning and moving forward. We want to get past the domestic level and move up for bigger titles over time.
"It's always great for me to perform in London, especially South London where I live - this fight is right on my doorstep.
"There's always pressure on a fighter to perform but it is about how you deal with the pressure. I feel like I am dealing with it better as I gain experience. Now, it's time to put in a performance."
Watch Frank Buglioni against Ricky Summers this Saturday night, with Joshua Buatsi, Conor Benn, Lawrence Okolie and Craig Richards also in action at The 02, from 7.30pm on Sky Sports 1.
