Sam 'The Savage' Eggington has warned Bilel Jkitou to forget about his friendship with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and focus on avoiding a humbling knockout loss.
Eggington defends his WBC 'silver' middleweight title against Jkitou at Skydome in Coventry on Friday night.
The unbeaten Frenchman is a former footballer who has received the support of fellow countryman Benzema, but Eggington has laughed off talk about his opponent's famous fan.
"It wasn't until yesterday that I knew who Benzema was," Eggington told Sky Sports.
"I've never watched a game of football in my life, so it meant nothing to me.
"But from what I've seen on the football pitch, most footballers didn't play a full match in the Euros without falling over from a tap.
"If he's anything like that, then he's in trouble."
Jkitou has revealed how Benzema has backed him to deliver a crushing blow to Eggington's title ambitions.
"Karim and I met on social networks, he is passionate about boxing," said Jkitou, who holds a 15-fight unbeaten record.
"He liked what I did and he wrote to me and since then our friendship is very healthy, we give advice to each other, we encourage each other.
"I also had to go see him in Madrid but the Covid has complicated all these trips, but it will be done very soon.
"Regarding the fight against Sam, he encouraged me to win."
But Eggington defeated former world champion Carlos Molina in his last fight and believes Jkitou will be painfully outclassed.
"At this point, every fight is important. You can't afford to lose these fights," Eggington told Sky Sports.
"I know he likes to have a bit of a fight. He might be made out of granite, he might not be. We'll find out on the night.
"What I will say, he's never fought anyone even half of my level. That's not me being big-headed, that's just the truth of the matter.
"We'll see what he's got and we'll see how long he can last, but I'm definitely up for it."