“He been saying that, but he know he can’t punish me. That’s not even what he do. That’s not his style,” said Ford to Fight Hub TV.  “He going to come in there and think he going to box. He going to be smart. That’s what he better do.”

“If he go in there and try to be anything else that he’s not, it’s going to be an early night.”

Ford says he expects Foster to abandon the knockout talk once the fight starts and return to the slicker style that helped him win world titles at 130 pounds.

“He just talking, bro,” said Ford. “At the end of the day, they still got to get in that ring and do what they say.”

The former featherweight champion also made it clear he believes he is the better fighter across the board entering the matchup.

“I feel like I do everything better than O’Shaquie. The best version of me is going to beat any version of him,” said Ford. “All I got to do is come there, stay focused, and do what I do.”

Ford enters the fight believing the move from 126 to 130 pounds has already improved him physically after difficult weight cuts earlier in his career. Foster, meanwhile, is coming off a strong run at super featherweight that has quietly turned him into one of the division’s most difficult fighters stylistically.

Despite the hostility between them, the fight has remained somewhat under the radar heading into Saturday night, even with both fighters actively promoting the matchup in interviews and press conferences throughout the week.