Fabio Wardley has said no longer being a heavyweight world champion has him feeling "free" and "weightless" ahead of his rematch against Daniel Dubois.
Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) lost his WBO strap to Dubois in May in a fight-of-the-year contender.
Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) was sent to the canvas twice, in Rounds 1 and 3, but recovered, boxing well and imposing himself on Wardley before getting the stoppage in Round 11.
With his rise up the ranks having come despite no amateur boxing background, Wardley had been written off and dismissed several times but cemented his place at the top of the division with stoppage wins over Frazer Clarke, Justis Huni and Joseph Parker. He was then promoted to WBO champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title.
But Wardley said he feels much more comfortable as the pre-fight underdog and without carrying the weight of a world title as he prepares to face Dubois for a second time in London on Saturday.
"Actually, I really love it. It feels more natural, feels more weightless," Wardley said when asked how he was enjoying life as the challenger again.
"Don't get me wrong, it's all fantastic being a world champion and holding that and I don't think it's necessarily just the fact that I was world champion, but having an undefeated record as well and going in with such a good fighter like Daniel holds a level of weight.
"Now I just feel free."
Wardley did not hesitate to activate his rematch clause, doing so less than a week after the fight, and said he is confident he can improve on his performance in May.
While there's every expectation that Saturday's clash will be as thrilling as their first, Wardley said the feeling ahead of the rematch is similar to how he was treated before he won a title.
"I'm back to being expected to lose and things going worse for me and I'm the challenger and I'm the chaser and honestly for me it all just feels like: 'Ah, this is it, this is the nice bit that I enjoyed for the past however many years on my rise and on my way up.'
"It feels great."
Despite now being a two-time heavyweight champion, Dubois said he is also preparing as an "underdog."
"I always feel like the underdog, always," Dubois said.
"I always carry that mentality where we come up ... We sometimes got to [have] our backs against the wall and ready to bite and attack."