Nikki Bascome has vowed to put on a show for the home fans when he steps into the ring with Canadian Dylan Rushton in the main event of the Fight Night Champion promotion at The Shed, Dockyard, tonight.

The two professional fighters are scheduled to face off in an eight-round welterweight bout as they bid to improve their respective records.

“I feel good, I’m ready to go,” Bascome told The Royal Gazette. “As you know I always put on a good show. I’m always putting on good fights so I expect a good bout.

“You always want to go out and put on a good performance for your fans, that’s the main thing. I’m just going to go in there, stay focused and do what I got to do.

“I believe he’s prepared and so am I.”

The orthodox fighter was forced to tweak his preparations at the eleventh hour after his original opponent Waseem El Sinawi, of Canada, was replaced by compatriot Rushton.

Bascome, who tipped the scale at 146.2lbs at the official weigh-in last night, insists the late switch has had little impact on his preparations.

“It won’t really impact much, I just have to change up a little bit here and there,” he added. “I have been sparring with multiple guys so I’ll adjust. I got lots of sparring in so that adjustment won’t be as hard as you might think it would be.”

Rushton is equally as confident of coming away with the desired outcome going into the fight.

“I feel strong, feel ready and it’s going to be a good show for you guys tomorrow night,” he said.

“It’s man versus man and one of us is going to win and one of us is going to lose, so you guys are going to enjoy the fight, I promise that.”

Asked how does he size up his Bermudian opponent, Rushton added: “I don’t really care or worry too much about him.

“I’ve seen a little bit of him, I know his style. I know he’s a counterpuncher but it’s going to be hard to counterpunch when I’m on your chest. It’s going to be a good fight for you guys.”

The Canadian was initially overweight at the official weigh-in but managed to shrug off the excess weight within the specified deadline to tip the scale at 147lbs.

“There was a little mix-up with communication, so I was heavier than I anticipated, but I got it off,” he added.

Meanwhile, in yet another late twist, Bermuda’s Michael Parsons has had his professional bout called off after his opponent failed to show up.

“Unfortunately, the fight got cancelled, my opponent from Jamaica did not show up,” he said. “It wasn’t that he had Covid, or he was sick or, didn’t want to fight. It’s something with him not being able to come and I found out last minute.”

Parsons said there is a possibility he could still feature on the fight card in an exhibition bout instead.

“We are still working on something,” he added. “I don’t know fully yet, but I might just get in the ring tomorrow night in an exhibition fight against another local boxer. You never know.”

The remaining professional fight sees Bermuda’s Andre Lambe doing battle against rival southpaw Jose Ceja, of the United States, in a four-round welterweight clash.

“I feel good as always, Lambe said. “He’s a tough guy and I expect it to be an interesting night. But I come to put on a show.”

Ceja is also raring to get into the ring.

“I feel great. I took the fight on late notice but I was ready,” he said. “I was training hard so I’m ready to go.

“I checked him [Lambe] out. He’s pretty good but we’ll see. I love this and I’m here to put in some work.”

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