British heavyweight Anthony Joshua will be hoping to secure the first title of his professional career on Saturday night when he faces Denis Bakhtov for the vacant WBC international title.
The 24-year-old is yet to complete three rounds but he could be taken past that distance for the first time by the Russian on a bill that is co-headlined by featherweight Lee Selby's world title eliminator with unbeaten Australian Joel Brunker.
Below, Sports Mole previews the two main events at London's O2 Arena, while also taking a brief look at the undercard.
1. Anthony Joshua vs. Denis Bakhtov
When Anthony Joshua takes to the ring on Saturday night, it will be just over a year since he made his bow in the paid ranks after signing with Matchroom Sport having won gold in the super-heavyweight division at London 2012.
Becoming Olympic champion naturally adds a blend of excitement and anticipation during the next stages of their career, but Joshua, so far, has adapted to the professional game with relative ease, approaching each fight on its merits and delivering eight destructive performances that have got the heavyweight division talking about a potential new arrival.
It's still early days in the career of the Watford-born fighter, but while everything is going to plan, he will continue to be considered as the next Lennox Lewis. While that is slightly premature, Joshua understands that the comparisons are inevitable but that hasn't changed his humble, appreciative approach to a sport that can knock one of its competitors off their perch in an instant.
What we have learned so far about Joshua is that his power is going to be far too explosive for the majority of the division and he is going to enter each bout in greater physical condition than many of his opponents, but those two factors aren't enough to guarantee success in a weight class that is as brutal as it is captivating.
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Joshua is his own worst critic and while he is striving for perfection, we should only see improvements in his performances, but that is something that will take time and, ahead of his encounter with Denis Bakhtov at the weekend, we should treat the occasion for what it is - an eight-fight novice going into his first title fight against a man whose only stoppage defeat in nine years has been because of an injury.
There's an expectancy that Joshua will get the job done against Bakhtov, and he should do just that, but he needs to be nurtured the right way, and regardless of how, or if, he wins on Saturday, there should be as much satisfaction in an early stoppage as there should with a points success.
Joshua needs a win on Saturday to get a top-15 position within a governing body, which shows that he is still far away from any opportunity at a world belt, but if he can end the year with victories over Bakhtov and Michael Sprott, then that will be the time where he can really start to anticipate some major showdowns in the future, maybe as soon as next summer against another of Britain's best.
2. Lee Selby vs. Joel Brunker
Promoter Eddie Hearn has talked up the potential of Lee Selby for the past 18 months, but it's Saturday night when the British public, and perhaps even Selby himself, will find out whether he can win a world title in the next 12 to 18 months.
A crack at the IBF featherweight title next year is the carrot being dangled in front of Selby and highly-rated Joel Brunker, and with the Australian being talked up as the real deal, it's expected that Selby will require a career-best display to overcome an opponent who is unbeaten in 27 outings.
It was last July when the Welshman really began to evolve from a domestic-level fighter to someone who is comfortable on the international scene when he went up against Viorel Simion in Hull. The Romanian didn't give Selby a moment's peace during the full 12 rounds, but he did more than enough to earn the decision before he retained his British and Commonwealth straps against Ryan Walsh in relatively comfortable fashion.
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Two points wins were good enough at that stage of his career, but Selby started 2014 with an eagerness to make a statement as he moved up the world rankings, and that came with a six-round destruction of Rendall Munroe on his first return to Wales in nearly two years, before he followed that up with a victory over Mexican Romulo Koasicha.
That fight represented a big step up for Selby, not so much in quality but the approach and longevity of a durable South American. There were times in that fight that Selby was caught with some decent blows from Koasicha, but he brushed them off to get himself into a position where his promoter could put him in with Brunker, who last won in Atlantic City against American Mike Oliver over a year ago.
Brunker's lack of activity might not be to his advantage, but against Selby, who is not regarded as a big puncher, he should have enough time to shake off any ring rust and apply his style to the fight without too much damage on the cards.
This is considered as a genuine 50-50 fight, but the key factor could be Selby's ability to quieten Brunker down the stretch. A strong finish from the Australian could see him get the nod with the judges, but if Selby can remain composed and pick his shots, that too could prove favourable with the officials.
Undercard
British middleweight John Ryder, who suffered a narrow defeat to Billy Joe Saunders last year, will be hoping to secure the first significant belt of his 19-fight career when he faces Theophilus Tetteh for the vacant WBA intercontinental belt.
Ryder had been hoping to fight Sergey Khomitsky, who stopped Frank Buglioni earlier this year, but despite that bout failing to materialise, he will be motivated to earn a world-ranking spot against an opponent who has six losses to his name in 24 outings.
Also on the card, Ricky Boylan and Tyler Goodjohn go toe-to-toe for the vacant English light-welterweight strap, while John Wayne Hibbert will be attempt to win the WBC international title in the same division.
Darren Plant
