NOURREDINE Meddoune may dream of becoming world champion, but next week he’ll come up against a man who was within a Klitschko of a global belt less than three years ago.

The Swindon-based boxer, who originally hails from Morocco, has been drawn to face Kevin ‘Kingpin’ Johnson in the second quarter-final of Wednesday night’s Prizefighter International Heavyweights at Bethnal Green’s York Hall in the heart of London’s East End.

Meddoune talks ambitiously about his desire for big fights against big names, but the bout with Johnson - a 32-year-old American with an enviable record - will give a good indication of how real his chances of making it to the top actually are.

Johnson took Vitali Klischko all the way through 12 rounds of their WBC Heavyweight title bout in December 2009 only to lose by unanimous decision, and the New Jersey brawler is otherwise undefeated over a 28-fight career, with six of his last seven victories coming by way of knockout or technical knockout.

Still, boxers are famed for their bravado, and Meddoune insists he is unfazed by the prospect of taking to the ring in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

“I’m a professional now and we’re ready for big fights,” he said.

“I want to be world champion, I want to fight big fights. At the moment we can fight all the heavyweights we can see now.

“No nerves. Some boxers get nerves. I passed that when I was an amateur when I was young. I’ve been boxing for 14 years now, that is a long time. No nerves.

“When I was young I started my first fight as an amateur and I was nervous but after that, now, there is no nerves.”

Meddoune, who fights out of the Horseshoe Gym in Greenbridge with trainer Islan Eltuyev, has an impressive recent record himself.

The 28-year-old has won each of his four UK-based professional fights in a combined total of four minutes and 18 seconds.

The imposing African champion has been sparring with Dereck Chisora of late after he was forced to call off a recent fight because of a minor injury, and he stressed he is ready to make a serious impact on the pro scene.

He said: “I’ve been sparring with Chisora. He’s okay, he’s a good boxer but when you’re in professional boxing you can fight anyone.

“I feel comfortable, it’s not a problem - I will fight anyone. I have a shoulder injury sparring, that’s why I cancelled the last fight.

“I feel a lot better now. I said I wanted to fight with one hand but they said to me no, they said to me not to risk it.

“I feel better in my shoulder now, I feel okay. I’m stretching and I’ve given it a rest for two-and-a-half weeks.”