Adrian Roach is relishing the opportunity to silence Sanjay Williams in their upcoming bout on the Epic Entertainment Fight Night Champion card on Saturday.

Ahead of the rescheduled bout, part of the Bermuda versus Jamaica fight card at the Shed, in Dockyard, Williams took to social media to mock Roach, claiming he will “come with the Baygon spray” in reference to his opponent’s surname.

However, Roach has warned such taunts only give him more motivation as he challenged Williams to back up his words in the ring.

“He can say all the things that he likes but at the end of the day he won’t be fighting with his mouth in the ring,” said the 19-year-old, who was originally scheduled to fight Williams last month before the promoter was forced to postpone the event after the Jamaican contingent missed its connecting flight out of Canada. “He now needs to back it up and make his taunt stand up.

“It’s funny, really, because I grew up hearing all those types of things and so when I saw it, I just laughed.

“Him making things more personal just gives me more motivation and incentive to go in there and beat him. Obviously, I have to stay calm and not let it get to me because I don’t want to rush in.

“However, I want to get into that ring now and get the win. I’m confident I have the better skill set and I think that will be clear come Saturday night.”

Roach is also keen to step back in the ring and make amends for his previous bout, which saw him suffer an early exit on his debut at the American Boxing Confederation Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, at the end of March.

Going the distance in a three-round super-welterweight preliminary-round bout against the much more experienced Jhonatan Conceição de Oliveira Soares, of Brazil, at the Coliseo Voltaire Paladines Polo complex, the Bermudian was eliminated on a points decision.

Despite the disappointment, Roach is adamant he is a better fighter for the experience as he continues to learn vital lessons from his setbacks in the amateur ranks.

“My last fight was against a really experienced fighter and I only suffered defeat on a points decision,” he added.

“Suffering slight hiccups like that only make me more competitive. I feel like sometimes you need a setback to keep you hungry and humble.

“I’ve never been afraid to take on a tough challenge because at this stage in my career if I’m going to suffer defeats then it needs to be as an amateur because I can afford to learn from it and make sure I’m more ready in the next fight.”

The enforced postponement has also given Roach more time to prepare for his lightweight bout, having had regular sparring with local professionals Nikki Bascome and Andre Lambe at the NB Boxing Gym in Warwick.

He is now eager to put on a show in front of an expected capacity home crowd.

“Obviously, initially I was disappointed when the event was postponed but you have to adapt. It’s given me a little extra time to be fully ready come Saturday and I’m feeling really good,” he said.

“The atmosphere inside The Shed is great and I’m ready to put a show on. The boxing scene is definitely growing in Bermuda and it’s great to see the island come out to support. I definitely feel like this event will be even bigger than the past events we’ve had.”