ESHAM Pickering feels he has a point to prove when he defends his British super-bantamweight title against Matthew Marsh at the York Hall, Bethnal Green on Friday, June 27.
Pickering will make his second defence of the British crown after stopping Sean Hughes in the ninth round in January.
That victory was revenge for Pickering after Hughes of Pontefract had pulled off a shock eight-round points win in a non-title f
ight in November last year.
Pickering (33-6) is out to prove the critics wrong when he takes on Marsh Welling as he targets a crack at European champion Rendall Munroe or IBF World champion Steve Molitor.
"In the first fight against Hughes I got beat badly against an opponent I should not have lost to, but to come back from that in my next fight and beat him like I did was good," said Pickering, who is trained by Carl Greaves. "I wasn't at my best in either of those fights and I feel I have got a point to prove.
"Everyone is saying I'm shot but I'm not and they won't be saying that after I beat Matthew. People are saying I can't do what I used to but I'm fitter than I've ever been now and I'm treating it as the most important fight of my life.
"I'm not offering any excuses for those two fights against Hughes, but you're going to see the old Esham Pickering back in this fight."
Marsh (9-1) is happy to be fighting back at super-bantamweight after suffering his first professional defeat to Derry Matthews of Liverpool when he stepped up a division in October.
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