Amir Khan believes he is belatedly receiving the respect he deserves from British fans after describing himself as "a victim of my own success".
The Bolton fighter is rightly regarded as one of the country's finest boxers having won the WBA light-welterweight title at just 22 before adding the IBF belt earlier this year.
Yet while David Haye received mainstream recognition for his fleeting heavyweight reign and Carl Froch is the darling of hardened fight fans for his willingness to take on all comers, 25-year-old Khan feels his achievements have previously been under-estimated.
He added Zab Judah's IBF crown to his own WBA title in July and wanted to collect the other two belts - from WBO holder Timothy Bradley and WBC champion Erik Morales - but has been unable to agree terms to meet them.
Instead he defends his two titles against credible challenger Lamont Peterson at Washington's Convention Center on Saturday before an anticipated move to the welterweight division.
"I think I'm now starting to be appreciated," said Khan, who came face to face with Peterson at Thursday's final press conference.
"If you look at my last few fights I've fought my way up to becoming the best in the division. I've offered fights to the biggest names, but they're not taking the offer.
"I'm a guy who has never said no to a fight. I've taken the biggest fights. "If anyone else in the UK had done that then I think they would have got a lot more respect. I do think I have got respect, but I just think some people might not appreciate it because I've taken these fights, against these tough opponents, and beaten them convincingly.
"So people thought that I've done it the easy way. I've not, though. I've beaten the best guys in the division. It's just how I've beaten them.
"Maybe if I'd made them all wars then people would have thought 'wow, yeah, he's a good fighter'. But because I've made it look easy, maybe sometimes you don't get the respect for it.
"Yes, I'm a victim of my own success really. If I got into wars then I'd probably be appreciated more. But if you can prevent having wars and be smart, stick to the gameplan and make the fight easy then you should.
"With the Zab Judah fight I could have made it a very hard fight if I'd stayed in there and not stuck to the gameplan. But I did, I made easy work of it and people tried to take the shine off it. "At the end of the day we all know how good Zab Judah is and how good he was when I fought him."
Khan (26-1, 18KO wins) may not receive the respect he deserves this weekend, either, as he boldly defends his belts on away turf against 27-year-old Washington native Peterson (29-1-1, 15KO wins).
Peterson and his younger brother Anthony were left homeless as children with a father in jail, a mother who could not cope and no permanent roof over their heads.
Ahead of what he hopes will be the crowning of a remarkable story, the American hopes he can inspire similar tales.
He said: "This means a lot for me but it's not just for me, and that's what motivates me the most. It's for Washington DC. That's how I feel. "It's for all the kids who aspire to be anything in their life. They don't have to just be boxers, but I just want to show them that if you work hard and stay dedicated to what you do, you can make it. "Roadblocks will occur through your journey, but that doesn't mean that's the end of it.
"I think me and my brother's story shows that very, very clearly."
