OXFORD, Mass. - Oxford's Geoffrey Esper is taking part in the 2021 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. After a year off, he says he is ready.

Esper did not compete last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. According to Major League Eating, Esper is currently the number two ranked competitive eater in the world, only behind Joey Chestnut. Chestnut has won the hot dog eating contest a record 13 times, and also holds the record for the number of hot dogs eaten with 75. 

Esper is no slouch though. He has eaten 83 slices of pizza in 10 minutes and 283 chicken wings in the same amount of time. He says he's doubtful he'll defeat Chestnut, but is up to the challenge.

"I think I have a shot of hitting my goal in getting second place," he said. "We'll see how I do. If I have a good day. I'm going to be well rested up because my last practice was on Wednesday. So I'm going to have quite a few days to rest up. I'll go in empty and hungry and do my best."

In 2019, Esper finished third in the contest, crushing 47 hot dogs. He says his goal Sunday is to break his personal best of 51 hot dogs.