Nikki Bascome hopes to finish his “breakout year” on a high against Portuguese boxer Fabio Costa at the Fairmont Southampton in November.

Although Bascome anticipates a portion of the island’s Portuguese community to get behind their man, he has warned Costa that Bermuda is “my house” and to forget about leaving with his undefeated record intact.

The pair were in talks to fight in July, but those plans were shelved to give Bascome more time to recover from his gruelling points win over Mexican David Rangel at North Field in May.

Bascome, who battled through sickness to extend his winning streak to seven matches, said he feels fighting fit and pledged to put on a show for his home crowd on November 11.

“He’s coming to my house, my country, and this is my stamping ground,” Bascome said. “It’s going to be interesting, but I’m going to do what I do best and that’s get the victory by any means necessary.

“I’m going to end this year on a great note and put on a spectacular performance. I’m going to look back and say, ‘This has been a good run for me this year’.”

Costa, who hails from the coastal town of Porto in northwest Portugal, is yet to taste defeat in five bouts and will drop down a weight to 147lbs to meet Bascome at welterweight.

Bascome admits he knows little about Costa, whose previous bout was in March and will be fighting outside Portugal for the first time.

“I know Fabio is a good fighter, a solid fighter, and I’m not taking him lightly,” Bascome said.

“My team have looked at his footage and I’ve taken a little glance. My coach [Allan “Forty”] Rego will come up with a game plan and I’ll add a few things of my own.”

The 26-year-old says his confidence has rocketed after back-to-back wins over Iwan Azore, an experienced Guyanese southpaw, and the heavy-hitting Rangel, and believes he learnt plenty from those tough bouts.

“I’m learning about myself every day and learning about my style every day,” said Bascome, who heads to Orlando, Florida, next month for a training camp at the Kissimmee Boxing Gym.

“If my last two fights taught me anything, I’d say it was the importance of conditioning and having a positive mindset.”

Nathan Dill, the Bermuda Boxing Federation president, expects Costa, 25, to offer a “progression fight” for Bascome.

“There aren’t too many boxers coming out of Portugal and he’s top-ranked in his country, just like Nikki is top-ranked in Bermuda,” Dill said.

“Coming from that side of the world, I would have expected Costa to have had a few more fights than he has, however, he looks like a good opponent for Nikki.

“The information I have about him is limited, but on paper he looks like a good match for Nikki.

“The time is right for Nikki to get back into the ring. His last fight took a lot out of him, but I think the fight against Rangel will have made him even sharper.”