Tony Bellew insists he is the 'million-dollar man' with a target on his back and that it's driving him on

Tony Bellew admits he is a marked man since becoming WBC cruiserweight champion.

Bellew makes the first defence of the coveted green belt against BJ Flores at Liverpool's Echo Arena on Saturday and knows his rivals all want to beat him.

The Scouser is a name in the US because of his role in the Rocky spin-off Creed and says all this has motivated him in training to make Flores pay.

"I'm not a world champion," he smiled. "I'm just pretending to be. Nothing has changed. I'm still a kid from the streets of Liverpool.

"If anything, I push myself more. Before I always drove myself to achieve my target of becoming world champion. Now I've got the target on my back. I've now become the million-dollar man.

"Me kipper fits the camera well and everyone else wants what I've got. If they beat me, they've got the keys to the castle. So it's driving me on even more."

Bellew, 33, will never forget finally winning a world title at the third attempt at the home of his beloved Everton in May and says the WBC belt has pride of place at his house.

However he revealed his family do not treat it with the same reverence as him.

"The only thing that is different is that when I go home, I see a shiny, green and gold belt," he said. "It's in the back room on my glass shelves.

"My missus has allowed it downstairs, although I think once I've defended it, she will stick it in the bag with the other belts. I've got to put it up high so my youngest can't get it because he's forever throwing it around."