Depending on when you read this column, I’ll either be about to duck under the ropes to defend my IBF super-featherweight world title against Edward Vazquez, or I’ll have already beaten him.

The other alternative isn’t worth thinking about.

It’s been a hard few weeks getting ready for that fight in Monte Carlo on November 4. Exhausting and draining, but necessary.

I never really understand those fighters who say they enjoy pre-fight training camps.

For me, it’s never enjoyable because I’m away from my partner and three kids and I’ve missed big parts of their life already. What’s to enjoy about that?

I train two and sometimes three times a day, for six days a week, with Sunday all about rest and recovery because I’m pushing myself to the limit.

It’s all about sparring, strength and conditioning, doing the runs and getting my stamina levels up to peak performance. Day after day that’s brutal and there aren’t too many laughs.

The motivation is to make sure I win the fight, keep my world title, and then earn bigger contests that are going to be life-changing for me and my family.

My plan is to take a little time off through December and January and then look to fight again in the spring. I need a couple of months to properly re-charge.

The fight I’m really after is to take on WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete in a unification bout. That would, hopefully, be a really popular fight and allow me to make some serious money.

Navarrette is unbeaten and clearly a very talented fighter, but I’d love to get in a ring with him, in front of a huge crowd. Two world champions together, it would be a massive fight.

The other possible fight some people have been talking about is for me to defend against world featherweight champion Leigh Wood.

Leigh is a good fighter, and I obviously watched his win over Josh Washington the other day. Yeah, it was alright.

He rolled back the years a bit, but I wouldn’t say he was unbelievable, and I didn’t see anything there we haven’t seen before. He boxed the same way he always boxes. He bangs away.

But people have to remember that I’ve got a world title at the weight above the one he’s fighting at.

It has to be a credible fight. Leigh’s been struggling to make the weight at featherweight for a while and there’s been talk of him stepping up to super-featherweight.

But I noticed that as soon as my name got mentioned, he changed the subject pretty quickly. He didn’t sound in a hurry to fight me.

There’s been a suggestion that if we did meet, he’d want to fight at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, because he’s a local and a fan of the club.

But, hang on a minute. I’m the guy with the title!

If he wants a shot at my title, then okay I’ll give him a shot. But he’ll have to come to Cardiff.