Croydon boxer Rakeem “The Noble” Ashaye is heading into the unknown, but he is still confident of victory.

The 25-year-old faces Ilja Sovdra on March 7, looking to extend his unbeaten professional run to eight bouts.

His Latvian opponent comes into the contest, to be held at York Hall, having won two out of two, so something is going to give.

However, despite going into the unknown, Ashaye feels he is prepared for whatever he might face.

“I am confident in my own abilities and even with the limited information about him I feel I can beat him,” said Ashaye.

“Like most eastern Europeans, you do not know much about them.

“So in that aspect he [Sovdra] is going to be a different opponent from the ones I have faced before.

“He has represented the Latvian national team on amateur level so has a good background in boxing.

“He seems quite strong as he’s had two knockouts already.”

Ashaye will have to work quickly to analyse his opponent in the first round in order to get the better of him.

“The first round is all about seeing what he is like and from then on I plan to knock him out as soon as possible,” he said.

“I will have to outpunch him, outsmart him and use my strengths to beat him.”

Ashaye has recently been training in Barcelona and Budapest as part of preparations for his fight with Sovdra.

He said that the experience and knowledge he gained, particularly from Hungary, gave him a better idea of what he might come up against.

“I took on some of their (Hungary’s) best boxers to get experience against them,” he said.

“Getting some background of what they are like as boxers is important.

“Sovdra knows what it takes to win and I cannot take him lightly so that’s why I have to stay focussed and prepare well for it as best as I can.”