WBO super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe believes Mikkel Kessler will bring out the best in him on November 3.
No place like home for unbeaten WBO champion
Joe Calzaghe is promising to rise to the occasion when he meets Mikkel Kessler to decide who is number one in the super-middleweight division.
Both men will be putting their titles, and their unbeaten records, on the line when they go toe-to-toe in Cardiff on November 3.
A crowd of over 60,000 is expected at the Millennium Stadium to cheer on Calzaghe, who has been the WBO champion since beating Chris Eubank in 1997.
However the 35-year-old's career-defining night came when he demolished Jeff Lacy last year, a performance he believes he can surpass when he faces Kessler.
Another level
"The Jeff Lacy fight was great but this is going to surpass that performance," he said.
"My training for this fight against Kessler is on another level. I am fighting a legitimate world champion and I need him as much as he needs me.
"The better the opponent the better I perform."
Kessler enjoyed a ringside view of Calzaghe's victory over Lacy and admits he has plenty of respect for a 'great champion'.
However, he feels the home favourite will crack under the pressure of performing in front of his fans.
Pressure
"I've got the utmost respect for Joe who is a great champion but all the pressure is going to be on him," the Dane said.
"I've watched Joe plenty of times and I was ringside to watch him beat Jeff Lacy.
"That was a great fight but this is one we have been talking about for a long time and it is a dream come true that it has happened."
