LOS ANGELES -- Undisputed world light heavyweight champion Roy Jones says he will not need challenger Julio Gonzalez to tell him when he is slowing down -- and he promises that has not happened yet.

"I'll know when I'm going downhill," Jones said. "In training, my hands were so fast I couldn't even eat with them."

Jones, perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, is a 30-to-1 favorite for their bout on Saturday, one of three 12-round world championship matches in Staples Arena.

"I'm the best at what I do," said the 32-year-old American, who has a record of 44-1 and will be in his 20th world title fight dating back to 1993.

"I have an awesome talent. I've been trained to out-manuever and methodically beat my opponents. Roy Jones hits you, and you don't hit him back."

None of this seems to faze the 24-year-old Gonzalez, born in Mexico but a resident of the United States.

"I know the odds," said Gonzalez, who has a record of 27-0 but no wins over anyone notable at 175 pounds. "He's one of the best of the era, but he's slowed down. He's lost speed. I don't think he's at his peak anymore."

"I always go in as the heavy favorite," said Jones. "That's part of being the best.

"But I know that one bad lick and you're out of there. If the guy's got the heart to throw that lick, then he has a chance, he's a threat.

"Gonzalez is big, he's strong and he can take a punch. A lot of guys come in hoping they'll get lucky. Gonzalez is coming to win, and guys with heart are the toughest to beat.

"I expect a long, long war. I'm sure he'll be tough in the late parts of the fight. I'll have my hands full."

Gonzalez at 6-foot-2 has a 3-inch height advantage over Jones. He also has a 5-inch edge in reach over the champion. On Friday, Gonzalez weighed in at 174¼ pounds while Jones was 173.

Jones will earn $1.5 million, and his company, Square Ring, Inc., is also being paid $1.5 million. Gonzalez will be paid $500,000.

"I'm going to have to put a lot of pressure on him," said Gonzalez. "I'm going to go after him with my uppercuts and a lot of punches to the body. He needs to be punished and damaged to the body so he doesn't run as much."

If Gonzalez should win, it would be the biggest surprise since James Douglas, a 42-to-1 underdog, shocked then world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in 1990.

It also would upset Jones's plans for later this year or early next year.

Jones will fight either undefeated middleweight Felix Trinidad, providing the Puerto Rican beats American Bernard Hopkins in their world middleweight unification bout September 15 in New York City, or undefeated light heavyweight Dariuz Michaelczewski of Poland.