Derry Mathews fights in his home city, Liverpool, on Saturday night for the interim WBA World Lightweight championship against Canada's Tony Luis.

Mathews (37-9-2) was originally scheduled to take on Richar Abril for the WBA World Lightweight title but the Cuban pulled out of the fight due to illness for the second time in two months. Abril was replaced by Venezuela's Ismael Barroso but he also had to pull out of the fight earlier this week as he could not obtain a visa in time. All of this will no doubt be unsettling for Mathews as he has had to prepare for three different opponents throughout this camp but the Liverpudlian appears to be feeling confident. “It’s obviously not ideal preparing for three different opponents in one camp, but regardless I will still be capturing a version of the world title this weekend”, Mathews said.

Luis (19-2-0) was already scheduled to fight this weekend in Minnesota in a defence of the WBC continental lightweight belt that he won in January but instead he gets a shot at a more prestigious title in Liverpool. The Canadian should be in good condition and doesn't believe the late change will be a problem.  “I’m in shape and the jet lag does not bother me at all. I want to fight this Saturday. I’m here to do my job and I intend to finish it early and go home" Luis said.

Mathews fellow Liverpudlian Liam "Beefy" Smith is also in action at the Echo Arena when he takes on David Ezequiel Romero for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Super Welterweight title. Smith (19-0-1) will be an overwhelming favourite to beat his young Argentinian opponent. Romero (11-5-0) has never been in with an opponent of Smith's calibre and has already lost five times so it won't be a surprise to anyone if the talented Smith adds another loss to that record.

Also on the card are Joe Selkirk (12-0-0), Iain Butcher (11-2-0), Steven Lewis (8-0-0), Josh Leather (6-0-0) and Macaulay McGowan (5-0-0) but there can be no doubt that the majority of the thousands in attendance will be there to cheer on Mathews and Smith in their quest to win their respective titles.