Josh Warrington v Kid Galahad: Leeds star puts his IBF featherweight title up for grabs on Saturday night

Local pride means next to nothing to the unbeaten 28-year-old, who has thrust his way into the nine-stone big-time after hugely impressive wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton.

Rubbishing his opponent's proposal that he will lack hunger after reaching the pinnacle of his sport, Warrington insists Galahad is merely a stepping-stone to potential super-fights both in Britain and abroad.

Warrington said: "I'm not interested in all this talk about a Leeds and Sheffield derby. I want to go down as a great fighter not just from Leeds or Yorkshire, but one of the great fighters of the featherweight division.

"When you beat Selby and Frampton you do ask yourself, 'where do I go from here?' but the answer is my mind-set has changed. He [Galahad] is the man in front of me, in the way of making all my dreams happen."

Key fight details

• When: Saturday, June 15.
• Time: Around 10pm
• Where: First Direct Arena in Leeds
• TV Channel: BT Sport 1 (not pay-per-view)
• Sky Bet Odds: Warrington 2/7, Galahad 11/4 (Click for odds)
• Fighter records: Warrington (28-0, 6 KOs), Galahad (26-0, 15 KOs)
• Belts on the line: Warrington's IBF World Featherweight title

Galahad, also unbeaten, brings with him not only the elusive qualities of the famed Wincobank gym in his home town, but a close friendship with Naseem Hamed which he believes will count to his advantage.

Hamed is expected to be ringside on Saturday to watch a fighter whom he motivated to first attend the gym then run by the late Brendan Ingle when Galahad - real name Abdul-Bari Awad - was 13 years old.

Galahad intends to dedicate victory to Ingle, who died last year, insisting: "I would have done anything for Brendan and I can still hear him giving me the best advice even now.

"I spent most of my life with Brendan and I know that he will be looking down and watching me on Saturday night."

Warrington, who will start as favourite but can expected to be frustrated by Galahad's elusive style, dismissed his opponent's link with one of the finest British fighters of recent years.

"It's all right for him to go on about Naz but one of my favourite fighters was Marco Antonio Barrera, and we all know what happened when those two fought," said Warrington, referring to the Mexican's points win over Hamed in 2001.

"It's all right following someone's path and using someone as an inspiration. He's got a style like Naz but he hasn't got the same attributes. I've got the hunger and that is going to be the thing that makes the difference."