The Liverpudlian faces Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed world cruiserweight championship. (photos by Mark Robinson)

Tony Bellew is confident he will pass the “ultimate test” of his career to become the undisputed world cruiserweight champion on Saturday.

The Liverpudlian faces the highly-rated and undefeated Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, holder of the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and Ring magazine titles, at Manchester Arena.

Bellew is stepping back down from the heavyweight division for what could be his final fight in the hope of fulfilling his dream of becoming world champion.

Usyk, 31, is an Olympic gold medallist and unbeaten in 15 fights as a professional. He is expected to step up to heavyweight in the near future and could have his eyes on Anthony Joshua’s titles.

Bellew has won 30 of his 33 fights, the two most recent being his heavily-billed bouts against David Haye in the top division. He briefly retired after the second of those in May but was quickly tempted back into the ring by the opportunity to face Usyk.

Bellew, despite admitting Usyk may be the superior talent, did not undersell himself for an event on Saturday which promoter Eddie Hearn described as “the biggest and best fight Matchroom have ever promoted”.