Dillian Whyte believes he has the advantage over Anthony Joshua ahead of their December 12 fight because, he says, "I have been in his head for a long, long time".
Whyte and Joshua square up at the O2 Arena next month for what will be the second meeting between the pair, with Jamaican Whyte coming out on top in their amateur bout in 2009.
But since then, Joshua, now 26, has won an Olympic gold medal and enjoyed a sparkling start to his professional career, while Whyte has spent two years out of the sport after testing positive for banned substance methylhexaneamine and forced to work his way back in small boxing clubs -- but still remains unbeaten as a professional.
Since his return to action in November 2014, Whyte has been working with Johnathon Banks -- also the trainer of Wladimir Klitschko -- and the 27-year-old says a combination of sparring with the IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion and his "street fighter" technique has got him in the best possible shape to face Joshua.
"I've been in [Joshua's] head for a long, long time," Whyte said. "Since October 2011 I've been in his head -- and he's admitted that to me, face to face.
"I was brought up fighting for my life the whole time as a kid. It's just what I do, it's not that I'm a street fighter, it's what I had to do to survive.
"Even in my house I had to fight 'cause I've got big brothers and big sisters who used to whoop my ass as a kid so I had to fight my brothers and sisters.
"I've come up that hard way, fought on small shows and sold thousands and thousands of pounds worth of tickets to get fights. I've had my ups and downs, so [Joshua] has had a slightly easier road than what I've had.
"Wladmir's very, very professional, he's very, very strategic. Being around someone that's as strong and been as dominant as he has for so many years, you can only gain and learn. I pick up little bits that he does, to make him quicker, to make him a bit faster, a bit stronger. The main thing is desire and ambition at the age he is.
"After what he's achieved, to still be working so hard and be so ambitious: you pick up things and get a little bit of inspiration here and there, but I also know I'm a completely different fighter and a completely different style from him.
"Boxing and sparring Wladimir gives you experience for everyone, not just Joshua, sparring him and spending time around him in the ring is good for everyone. He's such a strong, dominant champion. He's got a similar style to Joshua with the upright boxing, but Wladimir's a million times better than he is with that style.
Joshua, meanwhile, revealed that retired heavyweight great Lennox Lewis advised him to forget about his amateur defeats when turning professional, and believes that for all of Banks' qualities as a trainer he simply does not have the time to correct Whyte's flaws.
"Lennox [told me to] forget what I've done as an amateur, I'm a pro now'," Joshua said. "Why shouldn't I take that attitude into this fight?
"We were amateurs then, I'm a pro now, I got that from the world champion, so I'm going to go with that mentality so it shouldn't affect me and he shouldn't dine out on that because it's different.
"I don't think Johnathon Banks has enough time to correct his weaknesses. I hope Johnathon Banks hasn't changed his brutal style to try and be a boxer because Klitschko and Dillian Whyte are too separate beasts, so you have to be careful."
PA Sport contributed to this report.