Lee Purdy and has vowed to show he has become a different fighter since losing to Devon Alexander when he challenges Italian Leonard Bundu for the European Welterweight title the ExCeL London on Saturday night.
The Colchester man has described Saturday’s fight as a ‘must win’ and says that if he does take Bunndu’s belt he wants to put himself in a position where champions will have no choice but to fight him.
“Every fighter says it but I really am in the best shape of my life,” he said. “If there was an opponent that I could choose stylistically, then Bundo would be it. It’s going to be a cracking fight for me and the fans and I’m just really looking forward to fighting now, putting on a big show and finishing off the year with a bang.
“Obviously in my last fight against Devon Alexander I struggled with the weight a little bit but since then I’ve changed things and I’m a different fighter. You will see a different Lee Purdy on Saturday.
“I hope that I have taken enough from that fight to get me to the next level and prove a lot of doubters wrong.
“Saturday is a must win fight for me. He’s older, but a good name for me. He’s unbeaten, knows his way around the ring and stylistically I think it’s going to be a great fight. We both like to come and have a fight, so I think the fans are in for a treat.
“I have been in training for quite a while for this fight which meant I brought my weight down nice and slowly so I made the weight no problem. All the good preparation means that the crowd will see a different animal in there tonight.
“When I win this European title it will shoot me up the rankings because of the title but also because Bundu is rated highly. So next year I’m going to be looking to fight myself into a position where champions are going to have to fight me. I believe that’s the level I should be operating at and I can’t wait to prove that to people. A win tonight will go some way to starting to do that.
“I believe I’m in the best shape both physically and mentally. I’m going to finish the year on a high.”
