The fire in Ryan Rhodes still burns bright ahead of his clash with Sergey Rabchenko in Manchester on Saturday.
Veteran still eyeing world title shot - after beating Belarusian
The fire in Ryan Rhodes still burns bright ahead of his clash with Sergey Rabchenko in Manchester on Saturday.
The 51-fight veteran will be looking to regain his old European light-middleweight title against the unbeaten Belarusian - but he hopes it is only the start of bigger things to come.
Rhodes fought for the WBC light-middleweight title last summer, holding his own in a gutsy performance against Saul Alvarez in Mexico before being stopped in the final round.
That appeared to be the pinnacle of a long, successful career for the 35-year-old that included a sensational win over Jamie Moore, but he has come back hungrier than ever and is still longing for that elusive world title.
"I want to become world champion, I think that's the ultimate goal," he told Sky Sports. "I've won everything apart from a world title. I've been in some fantastic fights, me and Jamie won fight of the year in 2009, I worked my way into a mandatory position to fight for the WBC title.
"I feel like I got beat by a superstar in boxing in Saul Alvarez. I think I fought the best light-middleweight champion out there without a shadow of a doubt. Give me Cornelius Bundrage or Austin Trout any day of the week."
While Rhodes contemplates a return to the elite level, he has not lost sight of the job in hand - removing Rabchenko from his path.
Confident
And despite taking a beating against Alvarez, the Sheffield fighter said the experience was all part of the learning process.
"When you lose in fights you go back to the drawing board and look at your mistakes and things you can change, and I put them in the bag," he added.
"This kid's no Alvarez but what I've been doing in the gym I'm confident I've got the attributes and ability to beat him.
"I wouldn't say it's a stepping stone. It's a massive fight and I'm not looking past Rabchenko - without a doubt it's the most important fight of my career so far.
"He's the one I'm focusing on, I'm not looking at what could happen down the line."
In a bizarre twist, Rabchenko has been trained for the fight by Rhodes' promoter Ricky Hatton, but Rhodes insisted he was no longer concerned that the former world champion would be in the opposite corner.
"I'm past it - it's one of them things," he said. "I'm not going to let it bother me. Ricky's going to step out of that ring when the bell goes, then it's just me and Rabchenko.
"At the time I was a little bit upset, disappointed, but I'm a professional and I'm just going to get on with it and do my job."
