But strange as it would seem back as my teenage self, this has become normal to me — be that selling out a massive stadium or starring in a Guy Ritchie movie, albeit a short one to promote Saturday’s fight.
As a kid, I wasn’t always comfortable with the spotlight — who is? — but I thrive on it now, the lights on me, people chanting my name, knowing that millions around the world are tuning in to watch.
People want to see history in the making as I try to join the likes of Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko as a threetime world heavyweight champion.
To be spoken of in the same sentence as those greats of this wonderful sport makes all the hard work worth it.
And the expectation from nearly 100,000 people is huge. They expect me to win and they expect me to put on a show but none of that can exceed the expectation that I put upon myself.
Denne historien er fra September 19, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.
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Denne historien er fra September 19, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Vamos Rafa! It's time to go for Spain's brave warrior
'Shy and funny' Nadal bows out as sport's ultimate competitor
Does Angeball have a winning future at Spurs?
Head coach divides supporters with his ultra-attacking tactics
The £5bn-a-year tax timebomb that's set to devastate London hospitality
The capital will bear the brunt of Rachel Reeves’s National Insurance raid
Live like a Queen...
...in the house gifted to Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII in 1540 and now onsale for 3.75 million
At home with...Matthew Williamson
The designer’s Belsize Park flatis a grand canvas for his ever-changing colour palette
Hidden London
The first time I made my way to Maison Assouline was with a broken foot, in a tragic boot and crutches.
Jameela Jamil on why New York will always have her heart...
..and her stomach. The actor and activist shares her favourite brunch spot, a secret bar and her brownstone fantasies
My life in bespoke suits
Back in the Eighties, suits were so wide that even the shoulder pads had shoulder pads. Suits back then were boxy, square, and designed to make you look like a quarterback, a bouncer or a tank.
Cher's wild world
The singer's memoir is full of jaw-dropping tales
'I was told I could stay in the UKthen kicked out of my asylum accommodation'
As our appeal hits 1m, we turn the spotlight on an official policy that’s making newly recognised refugees homeless
