NEWPORT light-middleweight Paul Samuels (pictured) is expecting excellent Welsh support when he bids to win the WBF crown in Nottingham on Saturday.

Samuels has himself sold a lot of tickets for his fight with champion Steve Roberts as he bids to becomes his town's first world title holder.

Samuels is a late replacement for American Jason Papillion, who pulled out of the clash with Britain's number one because of a shoulder injury.

Samuels, 28, and ranked only seven in this country, stepped in and says he will bring the title back to Wales despite only drawing his last fight and losing in three rounds in a fight before that.

The latter fight was against Wayne Alexander in February and Samuels says, "I should never have taken that fight. I was never even there. It was like somebody else, a shell. "It will be different this time."

And he revealed he had tried to get a return fight with Alexander. "But he didn't want to know," said Samuels.

Samuels' trainer, Tony Borg, says the Newport man, with a 16 wins from 18 fights record, is in fine shape.

And answering those who claim the WBF crown is the least important of the four on offer, Borg said, "At one time they didn't rate the WBO title that highly.

"It was a Mickey Mouse sort of title until some big names like Chris Eubank and Steve Robinson started fighting for it. Now it's highly regarded.

"As far as we are concerned, it is a world title fight like any other on Saturday and if Paul wins he will be a genuine world champion."

Samuels said: "There's going to be a lot of support going up from Newport and Cardiff, where I know a lot of people and have a lot of friends.

"I don't intend to let them down."