Darkon Dryden believes he has the blueprint to stop the Nikita Tszyu hype train in its tracks.
The undefeated pair will face off on October 8 as part of the Super Saturday Boxing Festival at Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
Tszyu has won his first three bouts as a professional but last time out faced a tough customer in Ben Horn who had the 24-year-old hurt late in the bout.
In four professional fights, Dryden has never seen a third round and he’s confident he has the tools to stop Tszyu.
“He’s got good hand speed, good presence but no one actually came at him, he’s dictated the pace and pushed everyone to corners and done whatever he has wanted,” Dryden told promoter No Limit ahead of the fight.
“We’ll see what happens when it gets pushed back to him. If not, I can box with him, I can punch with him, I don’t really care what he brings.
“I took a bit out of his last performance but more so the ones before that because he was still getting hit with the same shots in the first fight as he was in the third fight.
“I think he’s going to come out with a different start to his last three performances but I have the remedy for whatever he brings.”
The Tszyu family’s history in Newcastle is significant - between Kostya and Tim, they’ve fought there on nine occasions - seeing the “Tszyucastle” moniker coined when one comes to town.
Dryden, a born and bred Novacastrian, isn’t about to relinquish his home turf.
“It’s my hometown and I'm here to defend the kingdom. The pressure’s on him to keep the name going because if I beat him here it stops and where does he go from there?” Dryden said.
“They took it [Tszyucastle] from Tim who’s actually done some things. [Nikita] hasn’t done anything yet and so he’s got to prove it on October 8th.
“Fighting in front of my home fans is everything. I’ve envisioned this from the start and I’ve seen it all before.
“I’m fighting for all the blue collar workers, school kids and anyone who walks around the streets here.”
Despite a host of fighters calling him out, when the time has come to sign the contract, Tszyu’s team have struggled to secure opponents for him thus far in his career.
Dryden however didn’t need much convincing.
“I’ve always been interested in fighting Nikita Tszyu because he’s the big hype train right now and I plan to derail,” he said.
“He’s a great fighter but I'm fighting a boy, I'm not fighting his name. He’s just another bloke with three fights.
“They talk about the name but I don’t really care about the name. He’s just a boy in my eyes.
“He’s been on the radar as he said that I've been on his. It got offered and I took [the fight] within two days.
“Apparently no one else would fight him so I got the first-class ticket.”
Come fight night, Dryden believes the pair's different upbringings will give him the edge.
"When he asked for stuff [growing up] he got given it and I had to go take it or get told no or find another way to get what I needed. That’s what I'm doing on October 8th," he said.
"I think once we get in the trenches in the middle of the fight, I’ll out work him.
"A win proves everything that I’ve already been saying, that I’m better than what people keep saying.
"Now I've got my opportunity to prove it."
