Joseph Parker says he's energised by fighting in England and believes it's important for world champions to showcase their skills globally.
Kiwi Parker makes his British debut in Manchester on September 23 when he defends his WBO world heavyweight title against local hope Hughie Fury.
It will be just Parker's fifth bout overseas after an unbeaten run of 23 professional fights with his rapid success built on home performances. He fought twice in the United States and once in Germany in his early career and also had a win in Samoa.
Britain is the hotbed of the heavyweight scene right now and Parker knows this is his chance to make a statement.
The challenge of taking his game on the road has the 25-year-old excited as he steps up his training in Las Vegas.
"For us, it's going to be exciting. The reason I say this is because we are used to fighting at home. We are used to the crowd; we appreciate our home crowd. We have a great set up and structure we follow when we fight in New Zealand," Parker told Boxinginsider.com.
"But this is way more exciting, fighting somewhere else, fighting in front of his crowd, and I think being a world champion, you have to fight around the world, and not just one destination. I think it is important to go around the world and display what you have."
This is Parker's second camp where he has trained specifically for Fury. Their original showdown was set for April in Auckland but the lanky Brit cried off with a back injury.
Parker then took on giant Romanian Razvan Cojanu for his first defence, having to make adjustments to beat the last-minute replacement opponent in a disappointing points decision win.
He's determined to make amends on a bigger stage.
"I know that my performance wasn't the best. I was in great shape but it wasn't a great performance. We had a long camp and I would rate my performance at about 65 per cent," Parker said.
"I have a lot more to offer and I am really excited to be able to show people the real me without all the changes and distractions," he said referring to the Cojanu fight being played out while his promoters David Higgins and Dean Lonergan worked through an unexpected breakup.
With that sorted and Parker now under the sole guidance of promoter Higgins, he's itching to get into action again after a period of relative inactivity with just two fights in the last nine months.
This mandatory defence is a sizeable challenge but one Parker should see off.
Parker acknowledged the clever ring craft that Fury presented but appeared determined to concentrate on his own game.
"I have watched some of Hughie's fights on YouTube. He is quite good at using the ring, I'll say that. I think going into each fight, we focus on a game plan, focusing on what you have to do. It's more that if you can perfect what you are going to do, everything falls into place. We don't fall into the trap of worrying what he will do, rather focus on what we will do."
With three of his last five fights having gone the distance, Parker wants to get back to his knockout ways and knows the safest way to retain his title is to take the judges out of the equation, especially fighting in Fury's back yard.
Parker continued to talk up his hopes of trying to unify the division if he can get past Fury.
"I would like the opportunity one day to fight the other champions. I feel like the world should see champions fighting champions."
Photo: REUTERS (Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury finally get to square off with the Kiwi's WBO world heavyweight belt on the line in Manchester in September).