Tony Bellew is ready to reap the benefits of his move up to the cruiserweight division and gain revenge over Nathan Cleverly in their domestic grudge match, according to trainer Dave Coldwell.

Cleverly squeezed out a majority verdict in their first meeting at light-heavyweight three years ago before both men suffered crushing world title losses to Sergey Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson respectively.

Saturday night's victor in Liverpool is set to be fast-tracked to another world title showdown next year and Coldwell - who came on board with home favourite Bellew after the first Cleverly loss - believes his man can shine.

"A lot has been said about Tony being too fat or too slow but I think on Saturday night Nathan is going to be in for a surprise," he said.

"There is a massive difference - at light-heavy Tony was struggling to make the weight and you only have to look at pictures to see how unhealthy he was.

"Now he's healthy, fit and comfortable and you will soon see the results. He is a whole different fighter and that is why it can't be the same fight."

The needle between the pair was evident during Thursday's final pre-fight press conference with Bellew preferring to taunt Cleverly under his breath while the Welshman appeared to rile his rival during an unnecessarily extended head-to-head.

“When you punch you are at your most vulnerable and I only need one punch to land, just one,” said Bellew.

“I am technically better than him. He’s not that good, he’s actually pretty poor technically, and I can’t see how he can outbox me. The only thing he has got is that he could outwork me, but like I say, if you just want to work with me and fire shots at me, you’ll be going to sleep.

"I’m not going to die going down the stretch and if that’s what he is hoping for, he is very, very wrong.”

Cleverly, who has scored two straight stoppage wins since his loss to Kovalev, disputed Coldwell's claims and said he believed it would simply be a matter of "pressing the repeat button" on Saturday night.

Cleverly said: "He caught me clean (last time) and I brushed them off so I am expecting King Kong on Saturday night and you will have to see my reaction.

"The Kovalev defeat did hit me hard but I took a little bit of time out, freshened up and found my new weight. I feel very strong physically and mentally and I believe this is my time.

“There’s an incredible amount riding on this fight. It’s personal between us but I know what will happen to the winner. This fight is a gateway to a world title shot and the chance for me to make that two-weight world champion dream a reality. That rarely happens in boxing, only the best fighters achieve it so for me to go on and do it, that’s what dreams are made of.

“I can’t imagine myself losing and it hasn’t crossed my mind because I am so confident of winning. I cannot allow this guy to beat me. I will meet him, trade with him, break him down and stop him – 2-0.”