Victor Nagbe is days away from the biggest fight of his punch-for-pay career.
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The Ballarat boxer will compete for the Australian National Boxing Federation middleweight title this Friday at Margaret Court Arena.
Nagbe will feature on the undercard of the 'battle of the codes' promotion, headlined by rugby league star Paul Gallen and former Western Bulldogs player Barry Hall.
WATCH: NAGBE TALKS ABOUT UPCOMING TITLE FIGHT
He will square-off against Tej Singh, who claimed the vacant middleweight belt in December after defeating Jason Leukens by TKO.
The Libyan-born fighter will enter as the underdog against Singh, who has 15 professional wins, eight of which came by way of knock-out.
It will be the third professional bout for Nagbe, who transitioned to the sport after a successful kickboxing career.
Nagbe said Singh would be no pushover, but was confident of having his hand raised.
"It's going to be a good fight, but I think the win is mine," he said.
"Everything has gone well and I've put in the hard work and I've got a lot of great people around who have helped make this happen."
My job is to wake up at 5am in the morning, train my butt off, and then get in the ring and dance.
- Victor Nagbe
Nagbe will fight above his usual welterweight class, but believed it wouldn't disadvantage him in the 10-round bout.
He said it would enable him to train the same way without dropping muscle.
"Some fighters feel like it's an advantage because they feel like they are bigger and can hit harder," he said.
"But I feel like I can hit as hard as any fighter so it doesn't really worry me.
"I love to fight, I love to dance and this is my life, so it doesn't bother me."
Nagbe will enter the fight in impressive form following a recent win against former amateur standout Fano Kori at October's Wildfighter promotion.
He expected Friday's fight to be his toughest yet.
"My last fight felt like my toughest, and this will just be another step to climbing to the top of the mountain," he said.
"Every win is important to me, it's like surviving in the jungle and it would get me a step closer to where I want to get."
A knockout victory will be the ultimate goal for Nagbe when the bell rings in Melbourne on November 15.
He said a win on Friday would lead to bigger and better things.
"I'm predicting a knock-out, but I'll be ready for the 10 rounds," he said.
"The world championship is the ultimate goal for me and I think it's just around the corner."
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