THERE has been a fair bit of publicity this week about me placing a £10,000 bet at 25-1 to KO my WBO world title challenger Mario Veit inside a round on May 7 - but it's not true.

Because I beat Veit inside two minutes when we met in Cardiff back in 2001 I jokingly said I would put a bet on to do it again and that has been taken seriously, but really it was just a throwaway line.

Although I'm supremely confident of beating the tall German inside the distance again, even on his own territory, I would never be so presumptuous as to bet that I could beat him in the first round again.

As I said in this column a few weeks back, that defeat remains the only blot on his copybook and he has obviously improved a lot as his record, particularly his KO of Charles Brewer, shows.

It's true, I do enjoy a flutter on the horses now and then, but I've never bet on myself though, had I done so, with my unblemished record, I could have won a fair bit of extra money.

As it is, my fight against Veit will be one of the most lucrative of my career, though I don't want to say exactly how much I'll earn (£736,000 being reported).

But that's how much the Germans have had to pay to get their man the fight on home territory.

That is the one downside for me because, as was shown when Veit beat Kabary Salem and when previous German world champion Sven Ottke failed to impress on several occasions, home fighters always seem to get the points verdict in Germany.

That's why my plan is to knock him out again or, if that fails, to make sure I win every round so that the judges can't rule against me.

Veit has reportedly gone away for a few weeks to complete his preparations for the fight and taken some top German sparring partners of various weights with him.

Well it's different strokes for different folks and while that might suit him, I have always preferred to do my sparring at home in the Gwent Valleys where I feel most comfortable. It hasn't let me down yet.

This week I have got down to sparring in earnest and brought in some sparring partners from Wales, England and Scotland to help with an emphasis on height and reach, for Veit is 6ft 4in tall, not that it affected me last time we met.

He has said he underestimated my punching power then and won't make that mistake again, but his chin won't have improved and if I hit him hit hard enough again, he'll go the same way. He's also been talking about a unification fight with his compatriot and WBCsupermiddleweight champion Marcus Beyer after fighting me, but believe me that's just bravado and wishful thinking.

I've got big plans of my own and there's no way Veit can or will get in the way.

One of those plans involves a possible fight with IBF champion Jeff Lacy by the end of the year, but it looks as though Lacy will first have to overcome an old foe of mine, Robin Reid, in Florida in August.

Reid will give him a good fight because Reid is a counter-puncher and Lacy likes to come forward.

But though Reid is no back number, Lacy is the younger, more ambitious man and should come out on top.

Talking of title fights, it's good to see that my old stablemate and fellow Newbridge boxer Bradley Pryce has got another shot at the British welterweight title, against David Barnes.

It will be difficult for him because he has to go to unbeaten Barnes' home town of Manchester for the fight.

But though he has had a number of setbacks, Bradley has a big heart and a lot of skill and should not be underestimated. He definitely has a chance.