Katie Taylor is ready to shut out the noise and deep dig to gain revenge over Chantelle Cameron in Dublin on Saturday night.
Taylor suffered the first defeat of her professional career in her Irish homecoming at the 3Arena in May but gets another shot at the unbeaten English boxer this weekend at the same venue.
While Cameron scored an against-all-odds majority decision victory to retain her WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO light-welterweight belts six months ago, this time around the Northampton fighter has been installed as the favourite.
But Taylor told a press conference on Thursday: “I am very, very grateful for this opportunity again. I have a second chance here and I just can’t wait to fight.
“Whether I am seen as the underdog or favourite, whether I walk to the ring first or second, all that stuff is irrelevant. I am just excited and hungry for the rematch.
“I don’t really take too much notice of what people are saying to be honest. I am very much single-minded and the only people I really listen to are my team, my family and the people that I trust.
“I understand this is a huge fight, I understand this is a must-win fight for me and I can’t wait to step in there now at this stage.
“I know I will perform to the best of my ability on Saturday and it will be a completely different fight to last time. I am just excited to showcase that.”
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Taylor was pulled in every direction during the build-up to the May 20 bout, which marked a historic return to Ireland for the 2012 Olympic champion.
The Bray-born boxer has tried to keep her profile more low-key on this occasion and maintained a steely focus when sitting alongside her rival.
“There is nothing else to say really. I am just ready to fight,” Taylor insisted.
“I hate all the talk, I hate all these press conferences. There is nothing to say. I am just ready to fight at this stage. I am excited and very grateful to have this opportunity.
“I am ready for whatever comes my way. I am ready to dig deep when I have to. That is why I put my body through the trenches week in, week out throughout training camps to be ready for these situations.”
Cameron, sporting gold earrings, also remained respectful behind enemy lines, but warned Taylor would face an even better version of herself this weekend.
She added: “I am not complacent whatsoever. That is why I have put the work in, trained harder than ever and it is the best camp I’ve had because I knew I would be up against a Katie seeking revenge.
“I couldn’t take anything into my stride and think it would be a walk in the park, so I am the fittest I have ever been.”
The 32-year-old, who lost to her Irish foe in the amateur ranks, had originally wanted this rematch to be at 135lbs to enable her the chance to take Taylor’s lightweight titles but was happy to go again at 140lbs and has enjoyed the scrutiny this time.
“I do feel really comfortable,” she admitted. “I am just embracing the week, enjoying it for once. Usually I hate all this, but I am taking it all in my stride.”
Dubois hopes to become 'king slayer' in IBF title showdown with Joshua
Anthony Joshua is set for another shot at the IBF heavyweight title but Daniel Dubois hopes to become a "king slayer" when the pair meet at Wembley Stadium.
Oleksandr Usyk vacated the IBF heavyweight championship just five weeks after becoming the undisputed world heavyweight champion with his win over Tyson Fury, confirming his decision on X on Tuesday.
The all-British showdown was confirmed the following day as the duo prepare to battle at Wembley on September 21.
Joshua will bid to become a three-time world champion, while Dubois will appear in his first title fight after becoming the mandatory challenger for the IBF crown with his win over Filip Hrgovic this month.
The meeting will be Joshua's first at Wembley in three years, and Dubois hopes to bring his homecoming crashing down.
"That's just where I'm aiming for, to fight the best and be the best," Dubois said at Wednesday's press conference.
"AJ's been the king for a long time and on the night, I need to become a king slayer and that's my goal, that's the mission at hand.
"I'm learning more about myself as a fighter, as a person, coming out of the darkness and into the light, improving all round as a fighter and as an athlete. I'm up for this and ready to go."
Joshua has repeatedly been suggested as a potential opponent for Usyk or Fury, though says he will turn his attention solely on the upcoming Dubois bout.
"Congratulations to Daniel for winning his last fight," a measured Joshua said at the same press conference.
"I've been having Dubois on my mind for a while and he'll be on my mind for the next 12 weeks until I get my hand raised.
"The goal is just getting through a successful training camp, performing on the night and the shiny stuff comes at a later date."
Usyk no longer undisputed champion with Joshua set to fight for IBF belt
Oleksandr Usyk has vacated the IBF heavyweight championship just five weeks after becoming undisputed world heavyweight champion with his win over Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian handed Fury his first professional defeat via a split decision last month to unify the WBC belt with his WBA, WBO and IBF titles.
The fighters are set to face off in a rematch in December and Usyk had requested he keep the IBF belt to make that contest another undisputed bout.
However, the IBF's rules dictated that Usyk had to be stripped of the title if he did not face mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois next.
Dubois is expected to face fellow Brit Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on September 21, and that fight is now likely to be for the IBF championship.
Addressing Joshua and Dubois in an Instagram post, Usyk wrote: "The IBF belt is my present for you.
"Your friend, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Oleksandr Usyk."
Usyk was the first undisputed heavyweight champion since the turn of the century, with Lennox Lewis last achieving the feat in the three-belt era in 1999.
Fury to face Usyk in December rematch, says Saudi Arabian official
Tyson Fury's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk will take place in Riyadh on December 21, according to the chair of Saudi Arabia's general entertainment authority Turki Alalshikh.
Earlier this month, Usyk beat Fury by virtue of a split decision to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis held the WBC, WBA and IBF belts from November 1999 to April 2000.
It was the first defeat of Fury's professional career, with two judges scoring the fight 115-112 and 114-113 in favour of Usyk, and the third scoring it 114-113 to Fury.
Fury subsequently described it as "one of the daftest decisions in boxing" and said a second bout would take place in October, with both fighters confirmed as holding a rematch clause in advance of the first fight.
That date has now been pushed back, but Fury will get a chance to avenge his loss in December.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Alalshikh wrote: "The rematch... is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season.
"The world will watch another historical fight again. Our commitment to boxing fans continues. We hope you enjoy it."
On Tuesday, Fury's promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports he was confident the Gypsy King would bounce back.
"I spoke to him [Fury] after the fight and obviously when he got back just to make sure he's okay. He was very disappointed but very philosophical," Warren said.
"It was a fabulous fight, two absolute gladiators who didn't leave anything in the ring in an epic fight, the most important fight of the 21st century. It was a very, very close fight and I think it will be an even bigger one next time."
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