LIVERPOOL-MAN CITY LEVEL, BUT MATHEWS SAYS HE’LL DELIVER THE KO BLOW DECIDER

Revenge is a dish best served cold and world title challenger Derry Mathews will be looking to take a leaf out of FC’s book after the Reds all but ended City’s title hopes last night.

Jurgen Klopp’s men avenged their heart-breaking League Cup final defeat by emphatically smashing City for three at Anfield in a dominating performance.

‘Dirty’ Derry’s huge world title showdown with Manchester’s King is rapidly approaching and the Merseyside hero has promised to land another knockout blow on his North West rivals by dethroning their unbeaten champion.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I don’t lose rematches, especially against Mancs. Liverpool avenged our loss in the cup and I’ll be avenging my Prize Fighter loss when I take Terry’s belt from him next week,” said Mathews.

He added: “We had them up against the ropes the entire night and I’ll be doing the same to Terry next Saturday. We’ll be going toe-to-toe in a proper dust up, there’ll be no dancing around avoiding each other. It’s evenly poised at 1-1 now and I’ll be smashing him up to take the decider.”

Many people in the boxing world have ‘Turbo’ down as the clear favourite but Mathews is unfazed by taking the role of the underdog. The big-hitting Scouser is as tough as they come and is relishing the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong.

He said: “City came to town expecting to turn us over again but we smashed them to pieces. A lot of people have already written me off but they’ll be in for a shock when they witness me take Terry apart. You should never write me off; I’ve proved that time and time again.”

Mathew’s has admitted that this may be his last ever shot at a world title and is determined to mark his 50th professional fight by becoming the world champion. With just nine days to go to the eagerly-anticipated all-British blockbuster, Mathews is calling on his fellow Liverpudlians to cheer him over the line.

He said: “If we wants to come to my City for a war then he’s more than welcome to. If he wants to box then I’ll out box him and teach him a lesson. He’s coming to my home to take me on in front of my people, there’s no better fans to fight in front of and I’m not letting him beat me on my own patch.”

Terry Flanagan v Derry Mathews for the WBO World Lightweight Championship headlines the show that also features one of the worlds greatest boxers, , taking on Merseyside hero Jazza Dickens; another star of world boxing, dynamite punching South African Zolani Tete challenges for the Vacant IBF International Bantamweight Championship against Jose Santos Gonzalez; Birmingham ace Tommy Langford defends his WBO Intercontinental Middleweight title against Lewis Taylor; hard-hitting Ellesmere Port’s star Paul Butler will challenge for a championship belt; Blackpool’s Matty Askin defends his English Cruiserweight title against Swindon’s Lawrence Bennett. The undercard features some of the best talent in Merseyside: undefeated leading world title contender Kevin Satchell; red-hot prospect Steven Lewis; European Champion Ryan Farrag; Indian superstar plus Manchester prospects Macaulay McGowan and Zelfa Barrett and Leicester ace Lyon Woodstock complete the card.

Ticket for ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’ are priced at £40, £60, £80, £100, £150* and are available from: Eventim 0844 249 1000 www.eventim.co.uk

Liverpool Echo Arena 0844 8000 400 www.echoarena.com

Ticketmaster 0844 844 0444 www.ticketmaster.co.uk

A special V.I.P ticket priced at £250* that includes an inner ringside V.I.P seat, lanyard, complimentary beer, wine and soft drink (between a certain time period) and canapés are available to purchase through the Box Office office only on 01992 505 550.

The Channel Of Champions, BoxNation, will televise live and exclusive on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546, TalkTalk 415 and Freeview 255. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com or watch online at watch.boxnation.com and via iPhone, iPad or Android and Amazon devices.