Thomas Costello and Matthew Macklin are flying the flag for Birmingham on the national stage this weekend with both boxers expecting victory.

Macklin takes on Christophe Karagoz at Limerick University tomorrow, with Costello on Amir Khan's undercard at the ExCel Arena in London.

However, for both fighters, it is a baby step on their quest for world domination as acclaim and title fights are their ultimate goal. Whether they realise those lofty ambitions is still open to conjecture yet their profiles couldn't be more different.

Nineteen-year-old Costello will witness the Khan Roadshow in all its glory, as he bids to augment his unblemished record as a professional.

But that is about as razzmatazz as it gets for the quiet welterweight who still lives at home with his father and trainer, John, in Marston Green.

A hedonistic lifestyle is not on the agenda for this prodigiously talented teetotaller and he is hoping the austere outlook will reap rich dividends.

Contrast that with the swashbuckling approach to life that Macklin adopts and there is a chalk-and-cheese scenario.

Macklin was also a teenage prodigy and lauded as a future world champion on Sky's Fight Skool. But an early fall-out with Birmingham trainer Paddy Lynch and rumours about his penchant for nightclubs brought out the cynics.

While a move to work with Billy Graham and Ricky Hatton in Manchester undoubtedly improved Macklin, Hatton's drinking binges are legendary.

Macklin was undone by Jamie Moore in an absorbing British light-middleweight title about two years ago and has been on the road back ever since.

Now, he is prepared to uproot once again in his quest for the Holy Grail. Macklin plans to base himself in America with Floyd Mayweather Snr after his trip to Limerick, as he plots a pathway to success.

"My target has always been the world title,"

he said. "I will be disappointed if I hang up my gloves having only won the British and European titles.

"They are just stepping stones for me. Wayne (Elcock) and Darren (McDermott) are British title-level boxers and good luck to them, but my target is the world title and they are just stepping stones towards that for me.

"I'm boxing at a different level. I leave them standing in terms of amateur achievements and I'll do the same as a professional. I would beat both of them."

Macklin's gregarious nature and natural confidence shouldn't be misconstrued as arrogance, but his rhetoric is sure to irk Elcock, the current British champion.

While Macklin jets off to the States to work with equally outspoken Mayweather Snr, Costello will embark on the fourth bout of his fledgling career.

A knockout in his first fight caught the eye of Frank Warren who has since added him to his impressive stable of fighters.

Experienced campaigner David Kehoe is on his radar in his first fight outside Birmingham and his trainer, mentor, father and all-round guru John is in no rush to propel Thomas onto the world stage.

Richie Woodhall has already stated his belief that Costello can be world champion but any British title bouts before the age of 21 don't equate with his father's blueprint.

"We'll just see how things develop," he said. "I would be happy to see Thomas box four times this year, but there is no rush as he is still growing and I am convinced he can be anything he wants to be."

The prospect of these two Brummies clashing in the future, with Costello likely to move up the weights, is a mouthwatering prospect.

However, as they both tread their differing paths, it is clear that they both want to end up at the same destination not an impossibility.