It feels really great to be back in the good old of US of A for another tough and testing training camp. Despite leaving friends and family behind in London, I still really relish coming to New York for training camp. It provides me with the necessary solitude and enables a ‘laser focus’ on the job at hand. 

In my opinion, this is just the sort of sacrifice and focus that being a champion demands. No dream can come true without real diligence and hard work, as much as I love the company of those close to me, this is my business and I don’t need any distractions.

In the US, the majority of top level fighters have the training camp as an integral part of their preparation.

My first experience of the training camp approach was with my good friend and top fighter, Dmitriy Salita, when he took me up to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. We then went on to training camps in Florida and the Catskills mountains.

It is all about getting the absolute best out of yourself, and sometimes reaching levels that perhaps appeared impossible.

This particular training camp is for my upcoming mandatory title defence against the English champion, Nigel Wright.

Nigel is a good, honest professional who is desperate for a British title, but every time he has stepped up in class – he has lost. To his credit, he has not stopped trying and has fought Paul McCloskey, Ajose Olusegun, Lenny Daws, Michael Lomax and Kevin McIntyre – losing each time.

I take every single opponent seriously, and Nigel will be no different, but I’m really confident that this will be a straightforward win for me.

Winning the Lonsdale belt was a great feeling and I am totally committed to winning it outright and keeping it for posterity. This will be my second defence and after three successful defences I get to keep it outright.

Timing is everything, and therefore this is just the most awful timing for Nigel.