Josh Warrington has dismissed claims he will lack hunger when he defends his IBF featherweight title against Kid Galahad in Leeds on Saturday night.
Warrington will go into the fight as a heavy favourite against his Sheffield opponent, whose real name is Abdul-Bari Awad, after convincing wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton.
Galahad's camp believes Warrington's transition from challenger to champion will play into their hands as the underdog seeks to extend his unbeaten professional record to 27 fights.
But Warrington insisted: "It's stupid for him to say I've lost my hunger. Just because my lifestyle's changed doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and let someone take my title.
"I'm just looking at Bari as someone I've got to get through. My hunger has not died one little bit. The hunger after winning this fight is to move on to the big unification bouts."
Good judges give Galahad, who trains in Dominic Ingle's famous Wincobank gym and counts his former gym-mate Naseem Hamed as an inspiration, a chance of causing an upset.
Ingle said: "Josh Warrington hasn't got the same kind of hunger he had when he boxed Carl Frampton and Lee Selby. He's the champion now, he's not the one coming up.
"He's coming up against an unbeaten prospect, someone with the same kind of hunger and determination that he had. Everyone's saying he's going to win this fight, but he's in a different position."
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