Charles “Killa” Whittaker will take a giant leap up the IBF world rankings with a victory in Miami tonight.

The West Bay junior middleweight fighter is currently ranked 15th but if he can defeat Cuban Giorbis Barthelemy, ranked ninth, he will rise to
second spot.

Whittaker has been in the US for several weeks preparing himself for the big fight at the Miami Airport Convention Centre.

Yesterday his agent Raul Alvarez said: “Charles is ready for this fight. He will take the fight to Giorbis and won’t be wasting any rounds.”

Left-hander Barthelemy was once represented by Raul who clearly has the inside track on the 39-year-old.

“He’s a tough guy,” admitted Raul. “But we are confident in Charles’ ability and sure he can progress.

“Giorbis was part of the first wave of Cuban boxers to come over to Florida. Legend has it that he actually swam to Guantanamo Bay so he’s clearly a fit guy.

“Our goal is always victory and then we will be looking at a world title fight which is what Charles’ deserves.

“A lot of work and effort has gone in to get him in this position, not just from Charles but from Norman his trainer and all those in Cayman who have supported him from day one.

“He came here a number of weeks ago to help focus and to get away from all the distractions back home.

“He has trained well and we have had the opportunity to spar with a number of very good boxers, particularly left-handers, to prepare him for this fight.

“We would never say defeat would mean the end for him, but at 37, he knows how important this opportunity is and anything other than a win would be a big, big dent in his career but we are only thinking about victory. That is our only goal.”