TEAM Calzaghe member Kerry Hope is hoping childhood dreams of emulating Rocky Balboa will help him to get back on the winning trail in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Merthyr mauler Hope is the only other member of the famed Calzaghe stable to feature on the Battle of the Superpowers undercard, bringing a unique pressure.

Hope is also fighting on the back of his first career defeat, when he was left battered and bloodied by prospect Matthew Hall at Cardiff’s International Arena back in March.

However, ahead of a fight with Mississippian Willie Lee, 28 – 16-5-0 – Hope insists he is ready to stand tall and live out a childhood fantasy of fighting at the Garden.

He told the Argus: “It’s a dream come true to be here in America, part of all this, the biggest fight of the year and I only have Enzo and Joe Calzaghe to thank.

“When I was younger I would watch boxing videos from Madison Square Garden and now here I am, it’s unbelievable.

“Watching the Rocky films and everything as a kid, you always heard about New York and now here we are.”

Hope knows little of his opponent Lee, but insists he’s ready to be talked of as a prospect again following his loss to Hall, unsurprisingly Enzo Calzaghe being the man to give Hope some perspective as he stewed over the defeat.

“It was hard to lose after 11 successful wins, I took it badly and really got down about it for quite a while,” he said.

“But Enzo sat me down and said it isn’t the end of the world and that I could bounce back and now I feel better for the experience.

“I know little about my opponent, only his name and record and the fact he was stopped by Chad Dawson.

“Looking at our records I guess people will see it as a 50/50 fight, but I don’t see it like that, I believe it only matters what I do on the night.

“I feel strong, I’ve got the weight down gradually and now I want to really impress in the ring on Saturday.”

Hope has the tough task of being Calzaghe’s main sparring partner for the week after Bradley Pryce was refused entry to the US because of criminal convictions in his past.

However, Hope doesn’t see it as a burden and insists it’s the ideal preparation for his own fight.

He explained: “I am Joe’s main sparring partner now and I am thoroughly enjoying it, I am fighting a southpaw on Saturday and what better preparation could I have than sparring with the best southpaw in the world.

“He is so fit and fast, his work-rate is inspiring and it’s bringing the best out of me. I am raring to go, I can’t wait.”