Ashley Theophane is determined to impress when he defends his British light-welterweight title on July 23 against Welsh champion Jason Cook at Wembley Arena.
Theophane (29-4-1, 7 KOs) has successfully split training camps between his home city of London and adopted home of New York City for the past six years.
Currently rated number 14 by the IBF, he captured the British strap with a unanimous points decision against Lenny Daws back in February.
"As a kid I watched (Mike) Tyson and (Marvin) Hagler and wanted to come to America to train and fight," explained Theophane.
"For my 11th fight I came to Gleason's Gym (in NYC) to see if I was good enough. I held my own and gained confidence sparring Pauli Malignaggi, Chris Smith and Elio Rojas
"I've kept coming back to New York City and also gained good experience working with (Yuri) Foreman and Dmitriy) Salita. I only sparred with Paulie once, but I watched him go on to big fights against (Ricky) Hatton and (Amir) Khan. I would like to get to fight big names like that.
"I'd love to fight the winner of Khan-(Zab) Judah. For now, though, I want to make three quick defences of my title belt to keep my belt. Then, maybe, the European title and on to what I've always wanted, the world title."
Theophane has never fought on UK television and welcomes the opportunity to showcase his talents on July 23 to UK fans on Channel 5.
"I want to show British fight fans that I'm a force to be reckoned with in the 140-pound division," he said.
"I'm going into this fight to win and win impressively. They're going to see a fighter who can box or go toe-to-toe if I have to. I have decent speed and a great jab like Hagler, who was one of my idols.
"He was a serious guy who broke-down boxers much like Miguel Cotto does now. Hagler has been an inspiration for me. He was No 1 in the world but couldn't get a world title shot.
"He finally did but got a draw and had to go to England to win it. He had to do things the hard way and so do I. He inspired me to work extra hard, take opportunities that come along, and make the most of it."
