Carl Frampton had the utmost confidence he would get to fight on the world stage again after experiencing frustration both in and out of the ring over the last couple of years.
Frampton ascended to new heights when he wrenched the WBA featherweight crown from Leo Santa Cruz in July 2016 but the following year proved to be wretched for the Northern Irishman.
He surrendered his title to Santa Cruz six months later, a proposed homecoming against Andres Gutierrez was cancelled at the 11th hour because of an injury to the Mexican and he split with his trainer and promoter.
Now coached by Jamie Moore and with three wins under his belt since losing for the only time as a professional in the rematch to Santa Cruz, Frampton is set to challenge Josh Warrington for the IBF title at 126lbs this weekend.
And the Belfast fighter says he never wondered whether he would get the chance to challenge for world honours once more ahead of the showdown with his fellow Briton at the Manchester Arena.
The former two-weight world champion said: "I never doubted it, I always had complete self-belief and I knew that I'd get there.
"I've gone round the houses to get here. You unify against (Scott) Quigg (at super-bantamweight), you beat Santa Cruz and then you lose to Santa Cruz.
"I should have been walking straight back into a world-title fight but it's taken me a cancelled fight and three other fights to get here so I'm not going to let anyone rip it away from me.
"But I've always had that belief that I'll get back to the top. It starts by beating Josh on Saturday night."
Both fighters weighed in just below the nine-stone weight limit on Friday, with Frampton, the betting favourite with bookmakers, five ounces heavier.
Frampton has seen off the relatively low-key threats of Horacio Garcia and Luke Jackson either side of an impressive win over Nonito Donaire since the setback to Santa Cruz.
And the 31-year-old has no doubt he is ready to mix at the elite level once more.
Chaotic scenes marred the weigh-in for Saturday's heavyweight rematch between Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora after a scuffle broke out between the rival camps.
After two relatively calm days of build-up, the fuse was lit for the showdown at The O2 when a brawl erupted as the fighters and their entourages left the stage in north London.
Security and officials intervened and it ended with Chisora climbing back on to the dais and shouting "Come back. Right here you f****** suckers".
Only five ounces separated the warring British rivals with Chisora scaling lighter at 17st 8lbs 3oz and looking in the best condition of his career, while Whyte, was almost a stone under the total for his previous outing against Joseph Parker in July.
A ferocious first meeting two years ago ended with Whyte snatching a disputed split decision and until Friday the build-up to their second clash lacked the previous fireworks that saw Chisora hurl a table at his opponent during a press conference.
But Whyte knows Chisora remains an unpredictable opponent who is blocking his own circuitous route to the top.
"Dereck is a madman. If he's angry, you don't know what he's going to come with!" Whyte told Press Association Sport.
"I take nothing from our first fight. I was a relative novice and still beat him. And I've improved one hell of a lot since then.
"To say I've done it the hard way is an understatement. In boxing, no one has given me anything, no one has helped me. It's been a grind, grind, grind.
"But boxing hasn't made me hard. I've been through a lot worse. This is nothing to me. I've been a street kid since I was four years old.
"My life story is deep and dark, here's been a lot of sadness and darkness. That's what made me hard, not boxing. It helped prepare me for this. No complaints, we push forward and continue rising."
In the hope of challenging for the world title once again, Chisora has teamed up with former foe David Haye by appointing his fellow Londoner as his manager.
Haye, who won their 2012 showdown by a fifth-round knockout, believes that Saturday's eagerly-awaited clash will indicate whether Chisora is a genuine contender having finally mended his ways.
"Managing Dereck has been challenging to say the least because he's not the easiest guy to deal with," Haye said.
"But his mind is on it and he's doing what should be done - going to bed early and not driving around in the early hours of the morning.
"Now he's living like an athlete, which he hasn't done in the past. You can see it in shape and mentality.
"On Saturday night will find out if he can become the Dereck Chisora he's always should have been."
Dereck Chisora and Dillian Whyte were separated by only five ounces at Friday's weigh-in for their heavyweight rematch at The O2 on Saturday.
Chisora scaled lighter at 17st 8lbs 3oz but looked in the best condition of his career when he stepped on to the scales in north London.
Whyte, who registered 17st 8lbs 8oz, was almost a stone lighter than for his previous outing against Joseph Parker in July.
After a lengthy stare down the London rivals exchanged words with Whyte doing most of the talking and a scuffle erupted as the fighters and their entourage left the stage.
