Andy Lee has revealed that he hopes to showcase his improvements when defending his WBO title against Peter Quillin on Saturday night.
Lee will be heading into Quillin's hometown of Brooklyn to make the first defence of a belt he won against Matt Korobov in December, but despite being world champion, the Irishman has insisted that the pressure will be off when he steps into the ring with the former champion.
The 30-year-old is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "I'm very proud to be an Irishman from Limerick defending his world championship in New York. It doesn't get much better than that.
"There has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders since winning the world title. It's what I always wanted to do and I have been touted as a champion for years and if I never got it, I would have been disappointed. Now the monkey is off my back and I can just box and show people who I am.
"We have made physical and tactical improvements in the gym since the last fight and hopefully they will show up in the ring on Saturday."
The winner of Saturday's encounter will go on to face Billy Joe Saunders later this year.
Darren Plant
