Boxing:Ricky Hatton's day of reckoning dawned in Las Vegas with the down-to-earth Mancunian hoping to join the ranks of this generation's super-fighters with victory over Jose Luis Castillo.
Hatton knows he will secure a lucrative pay-per-view future if he produces the goods against a Mexican opponent already regarded as one of the most entertaining in the business.
Floyd Mayweather and even Oscar De La Hoya could become future names on the Hatton card but they will be the last men on his mind until the final bell at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Hatton said: "I am only looking at Castillo and I know everything there is to know about him. If I wasn't a fighter I would be a fan of Jose Luis Castillo.
"When you fight a fighter like Jose Luis Castillo they make you as much as you make yourself in fights like that."
Both Hatton and Castillo hit the 140lbs light-welterweight limit at last night's raucous weigh-in, allaying fears that Castillo might leave the contest in jeopardy.
Last year's projected third fight with Diego Corrales - which was cancelled at the last minute due to Castillo's inability to shed crucial pounds - had been fresh in everybody's mind.
But with Castillo's weight safely recorded Hatton turned his attention to around 2,000 supporters, grabbing the microphone to insist: "Let's do a job on him tomorrow night."
Hatton's trainer Billy Graham maintained his own confident mood but admitted he would suffer from the usual butterflies in the corner before the first bell.
"The training camp has gone amazingly well and we're totally confident in Ricky's ability to win a great fight tomorrow," Graham said. "I'm always nervous before Ricky's fights and that is certainly not going to change tomorrow. I would be an idiot if I felt any other way."
Graham knows Castillo represents the toughest test of his man's unbeaten 42-fight professional record and that victory will not be assured without a considerable amount of pain.
It is that kind of fight. While Las Vegas bookmakers make Hatton a big favourite, those in the trade consider former lightweight champion Castillo to have an excellent chance of success.
Castillo's record reads like a who's who of recent marquee names and it is to be remembered that many had him winning his 2002 fight with Mayweather, which was awarded to the 'Pretty Boy' on points.
Castillo, who also decked Corrales in round four of their second meeting, is also bound to be much more fired up than he was for his lackadaisical points winover Herman Ngoudjo in January.
That is why Hatton has chiselled himself into the best shape of his career and admits that the fear of defeat has driven him to extra levels for this contest.
Whatever happens it is bound to be exciting. As Castillo's veteran promoter Bob Arum said: "We need real fighters who mix it up and the best guy wins, and I am absolutely confident that's what boxing is going to get on Saturday night."