Joseph Parker's next opponent - Alexander 'The Great' Flores - believes the Kiwi has passed his prime as a heavyweight boxer.
Flores has been confirmed to face Parker at Christchurch's Horncastle Arena on December 15.
It will be Parker's third fight of 2018, as he tries to avenge back-to-back defeats against Anthony Joshua in April and Dillian Whyte in July.
Flores is a 28-year-old American-Mexican, who has 15 stoppages in 17 victories, with his sole defeat coming against ex-IBF champion Charles Martin back in 2014. Martin eventually lost his title to Joshua in 2016.
Renowned boxing website BoxRec has Flores ranked 179th in the world, compared to Parker's 10th-placed ranking.
But the lower ranking holds no fear for Flores, who is confident he can drop Parker to the canvas in front of his home crowd.
Flores claims he has the edge over the South Aucklander, whom he believes won't reach the top of the division again.
"Once you got a goal, you have to set another one, because you'll get stuck in the plateau," he told Newshub. "I don't know if he set another goal or not, he was already up there and his family is well off.
"There was a quote from Marvin Hagler saying, 'it's hard to get out of bed to do roadworks at 5am, when you've been sleeping in silk pyjamas'.
"I feel like I've seen the best Joseph Parker there is. Yes, he's young, but he's in big fights over the last few years and that takes a toll.
"You can be young, but old in boxing age.
"This fight is as important to me as it is to Joseph Parker. It is a life-changing opportunity."
Flores helped train Andy Ruiz Jr for the WBO title fight against Parker back in 2016, which the Kiwi won, but Flores claims the fight was "poorly judged".
After beating Ruiz, Parker went onto beat Razvan Cojanu and Hughie Fury, before falling to Joshua and Whyte.
At the conclusion of both losses, the Parker camp complained or blamed the loss on something that was out of their control, and that doesn't sit well with Flores
"There is no luck in boxing," he said. "He lost because Joshua and Whyte were the better fighters.
"There is nothing wrong with that, because it's how you come back. He said he was going to knock me out, which won't happen.
"If anything it's going to be vice-versa, he's going to be on the canvas.
"I'm saying this because I believe in my abilities to win. People will criticise me, but on December 15, they will know who I am
"I hope he's training, because I don't want to hear any excuse after I beat him."
Former professional boxer Shane Cameron thinks this is the "perfect fight" for Parker, as he looks to climb back up the heavyweight ranking and compete for a title once more.
"He has fallen short in his last two fights against creditable opponents," Cameron told Newshub.
"This is a great way for him to get back on the horse and he'll he hungry to make a statement on this fight.
"If he loses this, it will be a hard road back."
Newshub.
