For Irish boxer Caoimhin Agyarko, 2022 is a year of opportunity.

It will be Agyarko’s first experience of being a defending champion which he acknowledges could make things different in the ring.

“I’ve got a target on my back now,” he said.

“There are going to be a lot of middleweights who will want to take this title away from me. But in terms of my mindset, it changes nothing for me.

“This is just a step towards being the first black Irish world champion. It’s just more motivation to train harder because I want more titles, I want them all.”

Agyarko’s bout with Rubio – who has 18 wins to his name and just one defeat – is just the start of what is hoped to be a big year for the middleweight fighter.

“I feel like everything is finally coming together. I’m with a new management team, a new promoter, I’ve picked up my first title and I’m still undefeated,” he said.

“I feel like 2022 is going to be my breakout year. It’s just about me going in there and putting the performance on.

“As long as they keep putting the right fighters in front of me, I’ll keep knocking them down. The plan is to then headline big shows at the end of this year, or the start of next, back in Belfast.”

‘I can create a bit of history’

Agyarko has come a long way since the night in Belfast where he nearly lost his life. He was just 20 when he was attacked by a group of men.

The next thing he knew he was waking up in a hospital bed with a gash down the side of his face and neck that could have ended his life.

“It was a very tough time in my career and I hit the lowest of lows. An inch lower and I’d have bled out in 12 seconds. It could have been one of those ones were I went down the wrong road, but thankfully I didn’t,” he said.

Agyarko recovered and is 10-0 as a professional boxer with ambitions to become the first black Irish world champion.

“I understand that I can create a bit of history there,” he said. “I believe that I can be that guy and I won’t stop until I get there.

“I’m incredibly proud of what I have achieved since 2017 and I intend on achieving greater things like becoming the first black Irish world champion.”

For a long time boxers in Northern Ireland have been a catalyst for connecting people. The support for the likes of Carl Frampton, Paddy Barnes and Saturday’s world title contender Conlan runs through both Protestant and Catholic communities, and Agyarko hopes that he can benefit from this support, as well as being a role model for people from a variety of other backgrounds.

“With my story in getting stabbed, being a black Irish guy who moved over from Ireland, I’m not your typical boxer,” he said. “I feel like I can inspire the next generation and kids from different backgrounds that they can achieve great things.”