A FIRED-UP Kieran Gething is adamant that it will be him walking away from the Newport Centre tonight with the Welsh welterweight crown and not rival Tony Dixon.

Gething goes for his first title in boxing’s professional ranks against a man who has clearly riled him in the build-up to the bout taking place on a bumper Sanigar Events bill.

The duo were due to clash for the vacant belt earlier this year before Dixon (10-2) pulled out after suffering a bleed behind one of his eyes.

With the Mountain Ash man sidelined, Gething fought, and beat, Bradley Pryce in a non-title fight, after which it is claimed by Dixon that the winner “bad-mouthed” him in a television interview.

Gething, 24, is having none of Dixon’s accusations and insists he is ready to let out all his frustration tonight against the former Welsh super-welterweight champion.

“I’ve never crossed paths with Tony, never met him, but I’m not happy with what he has been saying about me,” said Pontypool ace Gething, who has taken on the nickname ‘Peerless’.

“He did an interview with S4C saying that I had bad-mouthed him after the Pryce fight, but all I said was that I wanted him to be my next opponent – we were supposed to fight that night anyway!

“A couple of months after we should have fought he came off his motorbike and broke a few bones, so I then turned this fight down because I didn’t want to deal with him.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to fight him, I just didn’t want to deal with him in a business way.

“We’re eventually going to get it on and he’s going to be getting shots from me from all angles.

“The public have never seen me angry, but they are going to see me as close to angry as I’ll ever be when I fight Tony.”

He added: “He is just a brawler. He thinks he’s going to go through me and knock me out in a couple of rounds.

“But the last time he fought as a welterweight he was knocked out in the first round, so it doesn’t bode well for him.

“Tony just plods forward and lunges a lot, so I’ll probably avoid him for a round or two and then take him apart as soon as he drops his hands.

“My fitness is phenomenal, and I’m never worried about going the distance if I have to.”

Gething is honoured to be given the chance to fight for a Welsh title and doesn’t understand why other boxers from the principality look down on what he feels is such a prestigious belt.

“You should want to fight for a national title and take pride in it,” he said.

“I was speaking to Lee Selby recently and I want to do what he did – win the Welsh, Celtic and British titles and then more after that.”

Also in action tonight are St Joseph’s quintet Robbie Turley, Gavin Gwynne, Andrew Selby, Fred Evans and Robbie Vernon, as well as Gavin Rees-trained Jake Tinklin.

While Vernon and Tinklin make their pro debuts, Turley aims to dethrone Ashley Lane, the Commonwealth super-bantamweight champion, and Gwynne meets Myron Mills in a final eliminator for the British lightweight crown.

Flyweight Selby makes his comeback after 12 months out with a six-rounder against Tanzanian Adam Yahaya.