Unbeaten Sam Goodman will throw his world-title hopes on the line to live out out a dream and headline a bumper pay-per-view card in his home city.
Ranked by the globally renowned BoxRec website ahead of superstar Tim Tszyu as Australia's premier pound-for-pound boxer, Goodman (17-0, 7KOs) is looking to secure a super-bantamweight world-title shot this year against undisputed divisional king Naoya Inoue.
But the 25-year-old is placing those lofty prospects in jeopardy by taking on trash-talking power puncher Mark Schleibs (13-2, 9KOs) at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre on March 13.
Schleibs earned his crack on No Limit Boxing's first pay-per-view card of the year after delivering a devastating knockout of Fijian bantamweight Shamal Ram Anuj in Newcastle in November.
While respecting Goodman as "world class", Schleibs is promising to send the favourite crashing back to earth, claiming the home-town headline act had been "catered to" for years.
"He's got the silver-spoon treatment to the world No.1 ranking, but I've had to earn it," Schleibs said on Tuesday.
"I've had to take hard fights, go up divisions. I'm coming up one more division, going into his backyard, fighting him in front of his home town.
"Without me, there's no pay per view. Everyone knows I'm must-listen, must-watch TV.
"He should be thanking me for that."
Goodman laughed off the sledge.
"Look at both our records. Look who he's fought, look who I've fought," Goodman said.
"He's struggled getting out of the domestic scene. I've been on the world level for a year and passed with flying colours.
"He's probably the biggest clown in Australian boxing. He's delusional.
"I don't know where he gets his confidence from, because to be honest he's just talked his way into this position.
"He's a big man on social media. He's a bit of an attention-whore; as soon as there's a camera in front of his face, he's got a lot to say.
"But he's got nothing to say when you put it on him."
For all the taunting, promoter George Rose said Goodman needed to be careful given the high stakes on the line.
"Mark Schleibs is coming off the knockout of his life," Rose said.
"It's a very dangerous fight to be stepping in against someone who can punch like that.
"Sam's got an undisputed champion in his division waiting, and we're waiting for that opportunity to get against him, but Sam Goodman isn't going to wait around and do nothing.
"He's a fighter. He's wanted to fight here in Wollongong for quite some time and I wanted to get down here myself too.
"We're really excited to be down here to have this fight in Wollongong, Sam Goodman's home territory.
"It's a great homecoming for him before he heads off to even more of those bigger things."
