Six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt has denied claims that he is scared of taking on Justin Gatlin.
The 28-year-old has not competed against the American this season, with their first meeting of the year set to take place at the World Championships in Beijing in August.
Gatlin has run the fastest times in the 100m and 200m this year and has previously talked about ending Bolt's dominance of the sport, but the Jamaican has hit back and says that he is still the man to beat.
"Afraid? When people say that, I laugh," BBC Sport quotes Bolt as saying. "I've been in the sport for years and I've never dodged anybody. When it matters, I've always showed up and shown that I'm the best.
"Gatlin has been doing a lot of talking, saying a lot of things. He's proved he's running fast times and he's ready. So it should be exciting going into the World Championships.
"I look forward to competing when people talk... because if you don't back it up you look really stupid."
Bolt's time of 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin is the fastest 100m recorded in history.
