Why Mikey McKinson's friends and supporters could in line to 'earn a lot of money' when he faces fellow unbeaten welterweight Chris Kongo

Despite the ‘Pompey Problem’ having the better 19-0 professional fight record and sitting second in the rankings in his weight division on these shores, bookmakers still have the Bermondsey-based boxer installed as the favourite.

Kongo heads into it on the back of a knockout win over Luther Clay to claim the WBO Global belt.

McKinson, who has had seven more pro bouts than the 12-0 unbeaten Londoner, is not bothered that all eyes are on his opponent in the build-up to the contest which has been moved from London to Gibraltar and will now take place on March 27.

In fact, the 26-year-old is enjoying being placed as the underdog.

‘My friends and my supporters are definitely going to earn a lot of money by betting on me,' said McKinson.

'The bookies have it wrong, 100 per cent.

‘Everyone is going in to watch Chris Kongo. There’s a lot of hype around him, he’s coming off a knockout win on the Fight Camp - everyone saw that and everyone knows about him, they think he’s this next big thing.

‘They’re all going to be watching him.

‘They’re not going to be taking much notice of the Pompey boy that’s going to come and upset the apple cart.'

Preparing for a fight and having his doubters is not a new concept for McKinson.

He told how people knocked him after turning pro and said he'd never win a title, before going onto win WBC youth world, WBO international silver and WBO European welterweight belts to reach the point he's at today.

McKinson is just looking forward to showing the 'non-believers' what he's capable of producing on the biggest stage of his career.

He said: ‘I’ve proved people wrong every single fight I’ve had my whole career. This is going to be no different whatsoever, just on a bigger scale is going to make it even more sweet.

'He’s only had one decent fight on paper.

'Mine’s decent fight after decent fight, unbeaten guy after unbeaten guy, big puncher after big puncher.

‘I’m doubted in fights and every single time I overcome every challenge with a smile on my face.

‘Firstly, I deserve to be where I am right now. Secondly, like I’ve said before, I’ve got my fight I wanted for a long, long time - now I’ve got to win because without a win it means nothing.

‘I’m really confident in how things are going, I’m really confident in getting the job done and then we can start talking about other names and what’s next.

‘For me, right now, my only focus is doing a job on Chris Kongo.'