The Nakhon Ratchasima native, 29, who entered the history books last year by becoming the first fighter to be inducted into the WBC Hall of Fame while still active in the ring, said after the weigh-in yesterday he would make short work of his opponent.

"I'm in perfect shape. I'm ready to go and very confident of beating him," said Pongsaklek, who has won 64 bouts, 33 by KO, and suffered two losses. Shimizu has 10 wins against one loss.

"After studying videotapes of Shimuzu, I can see that he is a heavy puncher. He is also fast and owns good basics. However, I will try and finish him off as fast as possible," the Thai southpaw said.

Pongsaklek's manager Virat Vajiratanawongse said he was confident the Thai boxer will be too good for the Japanese challenger.

"Pongsaklek has the greater potential and his 17th title defence will be successful," Virat said.

"Although this bout has yet to happen, I have already planned the next two fights for Pongsaklek. In June, he will fly to Tokyo for a match against another Japanese, Daisuke Naito, the challenger whom he has beaten twice. In September, he will have a re-match with Shimizu," he added. At the official weigh-in yesterday, Pongsaklek hit the scales at 112 pounds, while Shimizu weighed 111.8 pounds.

The Pongsaklek-Shimizu bout starts at 3pm and Channel 7 will televise it live until 5.30pm. Australian Brad Vocale will be the referee for the fight, while the three judges are Takeaki Kanaya, Luis Escalona and John Gillett.

On the undercard, Thailand's Oleydong Sithsanerchai, will challenge Puerto Rican Omar Soto for the WBC minimumweight interim championship.