Kenya's Rayton 'Boom Boom' Okwiri says he is not quacking in the boots ahead of his herculean battle with former IBF World champion Kassim 'The Dream' Ouma of Uganda.
The duo will dare each other in a vicious title hunt that is being billed by the promoters as East Africa's Fight of the Year.
The much-anticipated thriller is scheduled to take place on December 26 in Kampala, Uganda.
Okwiri has vowed to rise to the top by claiming authority as one of the best fighters in Africa.
“When I began my boxing journey, I promised to work my way towards becoming an African champion. Indeed I destroyed some of the finest African boxers to live my dream,” Okwiri said.
“Now that another chance has presented itself, I am ready to prove to the world that I am still a force to reckon with. I vividly recall that in 2014 I was ranked as one of the best boxers in the world by IBA. I'm still the same,” he added.
Okwiri said he will be looking to bounce back strongly after losing his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight title in July.
The veteran Kenyan pugilist crashed to Emmany "General" Kalombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo in their 12-round bout in Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng.
He said he is still undeterred by the setback, adding that he will use it as a good learning experience.
“I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. No matter the injury I'm going to be the same boxer I've always been. I'll figure it out. I'll make some tweaks, some changes, but I'm still coming,” Okwiri said.
Kalombo won by TKO in the eighth round of the fight after Okwiri suffered an injury in the right finger. The result left Okwiri at 7-1-1. He had promised to sacrifice everything in the fight before the big day.
Okwiri, 36, rose to the limelight after representing Kenya at the Rio 2016 Olympics. A year later, he turned professional and won his maiden fight in Brazil against Russian Andrey Zamkovoy, before losing his second bout against Morocco's Mohammed Rabii.
His last fight was in October 2021 when he knocked out John Serunjogu of Uganda in a middleweight non-title fight held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The Kenya Prisons officer has in the recent past been polishing his act in the USA alongside American multiple title holder Demetrius Cesar Andrade.
Andrade has held the WBO middleweight title since 2018 and previously boasted the WBA (Regular) and WBO light middleweight titles between 2013 and 2017.
In Kampala, Okwiri will be facing a battle-hardened opponent who held the IBF middleweight title between 2004 and 2005 and has contested for the world middleweight title twice in 2006 and 2011.
