Frank Warren

Tony Dodson says his British super-middleweight title fight with Paul Smith is "personal".

Dodson, 29, challenges Smith on March 12 at the Liverpool Echo Arena in an all-scouse affair.

And in a hard-hitting interview he has revealed that he is desperate to beat the man he used to be close friends with.

Dodson says he has been "disrespectful" and "nasty" in the build up to their fight.

"Paul and I go back a long way," said former British champion Dodson. "When I first turned professional he used to come to the gym and lace up my gloves.

"He was a lovely young kid and I really liked him.

"When he was on the Contender in the States I texted him all the time and told him how great it was for Liverpool that he was doing well.

"I even helped him before one of his early fights and sparred with him when I hadn't been in the gym and was weighing about 14 stone.

"But since he moved to super-middleweight our friendship has turned sour and he's been making nasty remarks which are completely uncalled for.

"I don't know if it's because we were always on a collision course once he moved to 12 stone, but unless he changes his attitude we won't be speaking after the fight either.

"This one has definitely got personal. The way he has spoken about me has been disrespectful. He's been talking about me like he's never known me.

"I respect him as a fighter. He's British champion and that demands respect.

"But I'll beat him because I'll be too big, too strong and too damn good.

"He's come up from a buzzing middleweight division because he thinks he'll get more opportunities at super-middleweight.

"But he got bullied by Tony Quigley and he'll get bullied by me.

"I absolutely dominated Tony Quigley until the last 60 seconds of our fight, so I don't see Paul beating me.

"And I can absolutely guarantee that this fight will be explosive. We've sparred before and our styles gelled, so this one is definitely going to be a thriller."