Manchester boxer John Murray says he can defy the odds and become a world champion in New York on Saturday night. The 26-year-old faces highly rated WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios at Madison Square Garden. Rios, 25, is unbeaten in 29 fights as a professional and goes into the bout having stopped his last 10 opponents. But former British and European champion Murray believes he has what it takes to cause an upset. Murray's world title shot comes on the back of his first professional defeat - an eight-round stoppage loss to Londoner Kevin Mitchell in July.

"I'm going to go over there to shock the world and bring the title back," Murray told BBC Radio Manchester. "I've been dreaming of this day since I was a little boy - I intend to take this opportunity with both hands and bring it back to Britain."

"I'm going over there as a massive underdog. But I'm really confident I can pull this off. When it comes to fight night, a ring is a ring to me - I've just got to concentrate on my opponent, and that's what I'll be doing. All that training, all those years, this is what it's all been for and this is where it's going to pay off for me. For the next 12 rounds, I'm ready to go to hell and back to bring this title back."

"It's what I needed - it has given me chance to go away from boxing, have a good think about how I was living my life inside and outside the ring and I feel like I've corrected my mistakes. I felt like I let a lot of my friends down, a lot of my family down, and I've got this opportunity now. If I go over there and win this title I think all will be forgotten from the last fight."