BLACKWOOD’S Craig Evans insists there is no way he is leaving Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday night without Thomas Stalker’s WBO European lightweight belt.

The clash in the Welsh capital completes a trilogy of title fights between the southpaws – the two previous meetings ended in draws.

Evans thought he was going to get a third shot at the vacant strap earlier this year but Stalker faced, and beat, Portugal’s Antonio Joao Bento in his home city of Liverpool instead.

That has been Stalker’s only outing since last December’s second draw with Evans – the first took place two months prior to that – but the Welshman, too, has only fought once so far in 2016.

However, Evans doesn’t feel that inactivity will affect him in the ring on Saturday night, and he can’t wait to put all his training at St Joseph’s over the last 15 weeks into practice in front of his own supporters.

“I’m feeling great,” he said. “I’m ready for the fight and I can’t wait for it to come. I’ve got a game plan and I’m confident I will win.

“I’ve been asking for this fight since the second draw. I was meant to be fighting him in Liverpool earlier this year but he fought Antonio Bento for the belt, which I thought was wrong.

“But it’s my turn to show what I can do and I will become the new champion.

“I’ve just got to up my game from my last fight in July and show Tom what I’m about.

“I’ve been training 15 weeks for this and the guys at St Joseph’s have been there for me.

“Tony Borg has been training me hard and I want to thank everyone at the gym for what they’ve done, this win will be for them.”

A lot of people, including Evans, feel Stalker should have been given the verdict in the duo’s first encounter but that the Gwent boxer did enough to win the second.

“The first fight was a close one and I would have given it to him,” he added. “I was a bit relieved because I thought I had lost.

“I thought I won the second one hands down. I was shocked when they said it was a draw again, but those two are in the past and it’s all on this one.

“He’s the champion now and that might make a bit of a difference to him because he knows he has got to defend it.

“For me, I’ve got to go in there and rip the belt off him, whereas before it was vacant.”

Also on tomorrow's Frank Warren-promoted show, Liam Williams, trained by Cwmbran’s Gary Lockett, faces Hungary’s Gabor Gorbics for the vacant European super-welterweight crown.

Two of Lockett’s other charges, super-middleweight Alex Hughes and super-flyweight Jay Harris, take on Harry Matthews and Phil Smith respectively.