I'm gonna go to this one....

WBO featherweight title challenger Nicky Cook says his clash with Steven Luevano in the East End of London is a dream come true.

Cook will tackle the American on July 14 at the O2 Arena - formerly the Millennium Dome - and insists the shot at the vacant WBO belt more than makes up for the agony he suffered in December.

Then a crack at Scott Harrison fell through on just a few days notice.

"It was a frustrating experience," said Cook, who was born in Stepney and lives in Dagenham, both of which are close enough to call his fight with Luevano a home coming.

"I did a long training camp in Tenerife and put in so much work to fight Harrison.

"It must have cost me about ?20,000 in expenses, but Frank Warren helped me out with some of the costs and promised me another title shot.

"What happened with Scott is water under the bridge, and if I saw him I would shake his hand - although I might give him a right hook as well!

"Getting this title shot in front of my own fans is a dream come true. The place will be rammed with my fans, and I'll sell a lot of tickets."

Undefeated Cook, former British, Commonwealth and European featherweight champion, added that he still hasn't seen tapes of Luevano, but is expecting a tough match.

"All I know is that he's a southpaw, but I'm sure I'll find out more in the coming weeks," added the 27-year-old.

Promoter Frank Warren has seen the Californian in action, and says he was impressed.

"He's with Bob Arum's firm Top Rank and they don't sign mugs," said Warren.

"He'll give Nicky a good fight, but we've had some quality Brits holding the WBO featherweight title over the years and hopefully Cook can follow in their footsteps."

Cook goes into the fight 27-0 (13) while southpaw Luevano is 32-1 (14)-- http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=46968

Venue looks
http://www.theo2.co.uk/interactiveguide/index.html


www.frankwarren.tv

Anyone with any info on Luevano please fire away