Michael Sprott feels Audley Harrison "lacks a bit of heart" ahead of their heavyweight showdown on Friday night, which is live on Sky Sports.
The two British boxers will go toe-to-toe at Alexandra Palace in London with the vacant European title on the line.
Sprott has already beaten Harrison once before, stopping the former Olympic champion inside three rounds back in February 2007.
The 35-year-old from Reading is confident he can pull off a repeat result and claim the belt, having sparred with the Klitschko brothers in the build up.
No pushover
"I'm confident I'm going to win again," said Sprott. "Audley is not a pushover and he has got skill and proved himself by winning the Olympic gold medal in 2000.
"But he lacks a bit of heart and we will see if he has got the heart to beat me on Friday."
Sprott believes he has picked up plenty after spending four weeks with WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and his sibling Wladimir, the current IBF, WBO and IBO title holder."I've been training for four weeks in the Klitschko camp and they are two supreme athletes," he added.
"I've learnt a lot from them, they are two great punchers and Audley cannot punch anything like the Klitschkos can."
Harrison has not waited until the first bell to fire back at Sprott, though, stating that he is on a "different level" to his rival.
The 38-year-old, who struck gold at Sydney 2000, believes he is a late bloomer in the professional ranks and feels losing is simply not an option.
"I'm on a different level to Michael Sprott," he said. "Who was the first guy to teach (WBC super-middleweight champion) Carl Froch about mental toughness? Me. Adversity is my friend and my heart is as big as anyone's out there. Lightning will not strike twice.
"I'm focused, hungry, dedicated and on Friday I'm putting everything on the line - I have to win.
"Michael needs to miraculously find a way to win, but that will not happen. Losing is not an option for me. Trust me. Whatever it takes, I'm getting my hand raised.
"When I left England I was 17-0 and Ring Magazine, the bible of boxing, had me as the future of heavyweight boxing.
"I'm a late bloomer. I started boxing at 19 and won an Olympic gold medal at 29."
Route planning
Having won Prizefighter last year, Harrison is confident his career is on the rise again and is already plotting a route to the Klitschkos.
In fact, he is adamant that he will get to face either of the Ukrainians before fellow Brit David Haye, who impressively stopped John Ruiz in Manchester on Saturday in the first defence of his WBA strap.
"David is the star at the moment and he did what he had to do on Saturday against John Ruiz," Harrison admitted.
"It's great for British boxing and long may it continue but I'm sure the Klitschkos saw things in Haye that they can exploit.
"I'm two fights away from the Klitschkos. Alexander Dimitrenko is the number one in the rankings so I'll beat him and I'm confident of getting to the Klitschkos before Haye does."
Source: skysports.com
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