Jeff Mayweather has warned Nikki Bascome must ignore the fanfare spectacle of fighting in front of a home crowd if he is to be crowned IBA international welterweight champion.

A year after suffering a brutal knockout defeat by Portugal’s Fábio Costa at the Fairmont Southampton, Bascome returns to the same ring tonight to face Mexican David Martínez for the vacant title.

Ahead of the highly anticipated bout, Bascome has spent several months training at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas under the supervision of Jeff Mayweather, the uncle of undefeated former world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

As no stranger to big fight-night occasions, Mayweather, who will be in Bascome’s corner for the bout, is excited to experience a vociferous home support but has encouraged his boxer not to get overly occupied with the spectacle outside of the ring.

“The most important part of being successful is having a game plan,” Mayweather told The Royal Gazette, having arrived in Bermuda on Thursday evening. “He’s well prepared for this fight and I expect a good, solid performance.

“I think this is great for Nikki to be home, fighting for a title with the crowd behind you. However, I want Nikki to focus on his opponent more than trying to impress the crowd.

“I want to see him relax and focus on the game plan and execute it, if he does that everyone will be happy.

“The preparation and hard work is done; it’s just a matter of maintaining focus, not becoming too focused on the occasion. If he can do that, then I believe Bermuda will have a themselves a champion they can be proud of.

“That’s why I’m here as well. I’m honoured to be a part of his journey and feel this the first step of other titles to come. I think he’s going to make Bermuda proud.”

Question have been raised regarding any possible vulnerabilities Bascome may have defensively after being knocked out in his previous bout against Costa, losing his unbeaten record in the process.

Martínez, who has 12 wins from 15 fights, certainly poses a dangerous threat, but Mayweather is confident that the training he and Bascome have done since teaming up has resulted in his man becoming a more well-rounded boxer, eradicating his defensive deficiencies in the process.

“I don’t know much about his opponent but after his last defeat I have worked to tighten up Nikki’s defence and working on getting his hands up more,” Mayweather added.

“I wasn’t with him for his last defeat, but I reassured him that he’s very talented. His defence had to get better and now it’s night and day from where he was. It has really came a long way.”