Wednesday 12 October 2016 16:59, UK
After the highs of another thrilling Ricky Burns night in Scotland, all attention turns to Liverpool this week as Tony Bellew makes the first defence of his WBC cruiserweight title.
The devout Everton fan will face Californian BJ Flores at the Echo Arena, while there are several mouth-watering matchups to precede the main event as Luke Campbell and Ryan Burnett both face local favourites Derry Mathews and Ryan Farrag respectively.
Here, we look ahead to a packed card to be shown live on Sky Sports this Saturday…
In football, the saying goes that you are always at your most vulnerable having just scored a goal. For Bellew, after achieving his childhood dream to win at his beloved Goodison Park, that saying might just resonate true in the boxing ring.
Now as champion, Bellew is the hunted man, the one the rest are desperate to face and his first defence is against two-time world title challenger Flores, who got the call after his taunting and brash trash-talking on social media finally got the desired reaction from the champion.
Flores' (32-2-1-KO20) record in the ring is a notable one with only two defeats against world champions in Danny Green and Beibut Shumenov. He says he has finished with talking and is now ready to KO Bellew.
Bellew (27-2-1-KO17) is a revitalised fighter, now operating at cruiserweight with a new lease of life under trainer Dave Coldwell. Wins over Makabu, Mateusz Masternak and Nathan Cleverly in the last few years outline those marked improvements and Flores is the latest acid test for 'Bomber'.
While Luke Campbell and Derry Mathews may be at different ends of their careers, they share one common goal, to win an elusive world title.
It could be described as a classic 'crossroads' fight between Mathews (38-10-2-KO20), the far more experienced of the pair and coming off the back of a failed world title attempt, and Campbell (14-1-KO11), an Olympic gold medallist who looked destined for world honours before suffering a shock defeat to Yvan Mendy last year.
Campbell, 29, has rebuilt since that loss and earned credible wins against Gary Sykes and former world champion Argenis Mendez in the process, while he is now under the tutelage of Cuban Jorge Rubio.
Now, though, he faces a new challenge as he travels to the backyard of Mathews - who holds wins over fellow Brits Anthony Crolla, Tommy Coyle and Martin Gethin and has twice won the coveted British belt - and whose fans will be sure to make it as hard as they can for the Hull southpaw.
Northern Irishman Ryan Burnett has long been earmarked for remarkable success by trainer Adam Booth and promoter Eddie Hearn, but he faces his toughest test to date against Liverpudlian Ryan Farrag.
Although Burnett (14-0-KO9) has only been in the paid ranks for just over three years, he already holds the British title and has a world ranking with the WBC.
It is again, like Campbell, a case of going into the lion's den and in Farrag (16-2-KO4), Burnett is facing a former European champion who is desperate to bounce back into the higher echelons of the division having lost his title earlier this year.
Burnett says he is relishing the challenge, as he defends his British title, but could it be one fight too soon or will this be the moment that he truly shows the potential that his team have long been shouting about. One thing is for sure, Farrag and the Liverpool crowd will be doing all they can to disrupt proceedings.
Popular fighter Sean 'Masher' Dodd will make the first defence of his WBC International lightweight title against Belgian Francesco Patera, while Rocky Fielding faces Istvan Zeller over eight rounds.
Bellew's mandatory challenger Mairis Briedis gets a chance to show the Liverpool masses what he is capable of as he faces unbeaten Brit Simon Valily, as Tom Farrell steps up in class to battle Farid Hakimi for a WBA International belt.
Watch Tony Bellew defends his WBC cruiserweight world title against BJ Flores live on Saturday night, from 8.00pm, on Sky Sports 2.
