By Mark Vester

Former champion Sergio Mora is coming off the first loss of his career. Last year he pulled off an upset by dropping down to win the WBC 154-pound title from Vernon Forrest. Months later he was dominated in the rematch. He finds himself back in a familiar position, as the big underdog. One June 27 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Mora moves back up to middleweight to challenge Kelly Pavlik for the WBC/WBO middleweight titles.

Speaking with BoxingScene.com's Luis Sandoval, Mora predicts that he will pull off a major upset. He admits that he wasn't ready for Pavlik in 2008 but the times have changed.

"I feel great. I got offered the fight last year. I wasn't prepared for it last year. I fought Vernon. Won the title. Lost the title. Now I'm ready to move up to my natural weight and win the title. Middleweight is my natural division. Me and him know each other from way back in the day in the amateurs. I feel good against him and I feel that it's going to be a wonderful upset. People better start giving me some credit for it," Mora said.

He loves being the underdog. It motivates him more to come out on top in the situations that need it most.

"For some reason I love being the underdog. I was underdog in The Contender and I won that. A 4-1 with Vernon and I won that. I'll probably be a 5-1 with Kelly and I'm going to win that. I love being the underdog. I don't like being the guy expected to win," Mora said.

He plans to use his speed, and some defense tricks. He knows Pavlik has the benefit of power on his side.

"What concerns me with him is obviously his power. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve. I'm not the kind of guy to go out there and make negative comments about someone. He's the man because of who he is but I'm the man too and you guys are going to find out on June 27. I'm going to shock the world," Mora said.

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