Kassim Ouma is talking tough 10 days before his big 10-round junior middleweight showdown against Michael Lerma in Philadelphia on Feb. 15.

"I just know he's somebody in my way," Ouma (14-1-1, 10 KOs) said, when asked by The Monitor if he was concerned about his opponent. "I have to get him out of my way and keep going."

Ouma believes he is going all the way to the junior middleweight title.

"I think I’m ready to be a champion," he said. "If my next fight is to be a champion, I’ll go for it."

The belt would increase Ouma's popularity and could earn him US$50,000-100,000. Ouma is represented by Peltz Boxing.

"I can see him being champion in the upcoming year," said Ouma's trainer Johnny Bumphus, himself a former WBA junior welterweight champ. "I think 2002 will be his year."

Ouma has dreamed of one day fighting Oscar De La Hoya (34-2, 27 KOs), who has long reigned on the boxing scene and still holds the WBC junior middleweight belt.

The former Ugandan Bomber is ranked No. 11 in his weight class, while Lerma (24-6-1, 18 KOs) is ranked higher. But Bumphus said Ouma is "definitely" the more talented fighter.

"I can't understand why we're not ranked somewhere around 4 or 5," a disbelieving Bumphus said. "[Alex] Bunema is ranked 4 by one body, 5 by another, and we're not even in the Top 10. But we knocked him out!"

In Ouma's most recent fight, last Dec. 14, he stopped Pedro Ortega in four rounds.

Bumphus is so confident in his fighter that he said, "I'm predicting a knockout, which is one thing I never do."

Ouma says he has no weaknesses, but according to Bumphus, the lefty at first had some trouble preparing to face Lerma's left hand. To overcome this, Bumphus got his young fighter a lefty sparring partner from Atlanta named Kippy Warren.

"I'm really impressed with how Kassim is adjusting," Bumphus said.

Overall, the training , in West Palm Beach, Florida, is going quite well, and Ouma is already in shape for the fight, according to Bumphus. "After Friday, all the hard work is over," the trainer told The Monitor. "Next week he'll just do enough to maintain his weight."

Indeed, Bumphus's strategy for the fight is already set. "Kassim's jab and the straight left hand is going to get Lerma drunk, and then he's going to murder him with the left hook," Bumphus boldly predicted.

The bout will be Ouma's first headlining the sports TV network ESPN2's Friday Night Fights card; he has undercarded broadcasts for his last two fights.

On one of the undercards next Friday, Ouma's former Bomber captain James Lubwama (11-0) will fight Randy Griffin in an eight-round super middleweight matchup.

Bumphus thinks Ouma will thrive in the bright lights. "I think he's going to love that," Bumphus said. "He know he's got to perform well; headlining the fight is going to inspire him to do even better."

Is Ouma nervous about headlining the big fight night? No, but he says Lerma should be.

"Of course he needs to be scared," Ouma said, "because Kassim 'the Dream' is no joke."