He may have long gone under the radar on the Irish middleweight scene, but on October 17th Eamonn O’Kane [14(5)-1(1)-1] will have his moment in the spotlight – and the chance of a lifetime.

The Derry man faces Bahamanian Tureano Johnson [18(13)-1(1)] on the Pay-Per-View undercard of the middleweight title unification between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux in New York’s famous Madison Square Garden.

Not only is it an opportunity to announce himself to the boxing world, the fight also doubles as a world title eliminator for a shot at the winner of the headline bout.

Ahead of the massive bout, IBF Inter-Continental champion O’Kane spoke to The Herald’s Eamon Carr. The driven Ulsterman explained that “my ambition has always been to become a world champion.”

“My full focus is now on beating Johnson.”

The 2010 Commonwealth gold medalist, is supremely confident ahead of the bout and revealed that he will have “a few surprises” in store for the Caribbean boxer.

This confidence is partly attributable to the relationship he has with new trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick, and believes that his methods have left them “ahead of the game.”