NEW YORK – Joey Dawejko laughed Thursday when Frank Sanchez predicted he would knock out Dawejko on Saturday night.

The veteran heavyweight from Philadelphia promised that the unbeaten Cuban prospect will be “in for a shock” when they square off in a 10-round fight FOX will air as the opener of a three-bout broadcast from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 27-year-old Sanchez (14-0, 11 KOs) is listed by most Internet sports books as a 10-1 favorite to defeat Dawejko (20-7-4, 11 KOs).

“Frank is a good fighter, but he’s not ready for me,” Dawejko said during a press conference at The Tillary hotel. “Like I said, the experience part, he’s gonna come out and he’s gonna try to box me and do that. But I’m gonna be too much for him. It’s gonna be too much. I’m predicting a knockout.”

The 29-year-old Dawejko has lost by knockout or technical knockout just once, when he declined to continue following the fourth round of an October 2013 fight against former IBF champ Charles Martin. Dawejko scoffed when Sanchez told Dawejko he has never encountered someone like him in the ring.

“I’ve been in with better fighters than you,” Dawejko said. “I’ve been in with better [fighters]. I’m talking my pro career. I’m not talking about sparring – fighting, fighting-wise, I’ve been in with better guys and they couldn’t do nothing to me. … He’s gonna be in for a big shock. I’m telling you that.”

Dawejko was particularly amused by Sanchez’s knockout prediction.

“Get outta here, man,” Dawejko said. “You can’t knock me out. Yo, you’re a cruiserweight. You’re a cruiserweight, dude. Get outta here. You never fought nobody like me. You’ve never been in the ring with nobody like me. … I’m gonna treat you like a baby. That’s how it’s gonna be. I’m gonna treat you like a little kid.”

Despite the seven losses and four draws on his record, the skillful, the durable Dawejko is viewed as a step up in competition for Sanchez, who’s trained by Eddy Reynoso.

Immediately following Sanchez-Dawejko, FOX will televise another 10-round heavyweight bout between Nigerian prospect Efe Ajagba (12-0, 10 KOs) and Romania’s Razvan Cojanu (17-6, 9 KOs). In the main event, Brooklyn’s Adam Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs) and Finland’s Robert Helenius (29-3, 18 KOs) will meet in a 12-round WBA heavyweight elimination match. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.