When asked how he's feeling after a whirlwind four months - training with the best in the world and preparing for his second professional fight - David Nyika has a simple answer.
"I'm feeling pretty level, pretty normal," he tells Newshub from his Manchester hotel room.
Nyika, 26, could be forgiven for feeling anything but, which is testament to his character and mindset heading into the fight, after moving halfway across the world, and training with the biggest names in boxing, including Joseph Parker, trainer Andy Lee and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
He's learnt a lot, but admits there's still an abundance of unknowns.
"Tyson and Andy are the yin and the yang that you need when it comes to development," Nyika explains.
"It was confronting at first and I welcomed all their criticism and all of their input.
"I've always been a firm believer that [you] don't just shun away information that you think might be wrong because as soon as you think you know it all in boxing, you'll get exposed."
Above everything else, the cruiserweight wants to show the world what he can do on Sunday morning, and express himself as he launches his professional career.
"Self-expression is pretty important in professional boxing," he adds.
"Your success relies on people wanting to see you fight or perform, or maybe not even perform, they want to see you talk some crap on social media.
"I think it's important to be your normal authentic self. I've got a lot of people that I want to make proud back home.
"This is the entertainment business. People pay to see the world's best athletes put their best foot forward, and I have to prove I'm one of the best athletes on the planet."
Equally as important is people knowing who you are. Self-promotion and putting on a show is the name of the game in boxing after all.
Nyika wants to do that in his own unique way, while motivating and inspiring young Kiwi kids at the same time.
"I'm living my dream. I remember playing Playstation and creating a character, and it always looked like how I wanted to look one day.
"He was jacked, he had cornrows. I've already done that and been the guy with abs and cornrows," he laughs.
"Every child has a right to chase those dreams, and being someone who can actually influence the next generation is amazing.
"A lot of Kiwis want to fly under the radar but your story won't be told and you won't be heard if you don't put your neck out there. I want kids to see just another big kid living their best life."
But when he gets into the ring, Nyika has no time for child's play.
"I think attitude is just as important as the fundamentals.
"You have to go in there knowing you're the alpha in the exchange. You want to be confident, but you gain that confidence through hard work and discipline and I've done both of them.
When asked about his French opponent Anthony Carpin - he immediately looks for an edge.
"He came in three pounds overweight, which was kind of annoying because I worked pretty hard to get down to the 200-pound limit. I lost about five kilos coming down.
"He's obviously maybe a little bit lazy which is not all that bad for me. He's not going to do anything that I can't deal with."
With the team he has around him, Nyika has every reason to be confident.
As if having Parker, Lee and Fury to help him prepare hasn't been enough, rugby and league legend Sonny Bill Williams, who can hold his own in the boxing ring too, dropped in for a visit.
"It was such a trip. He called Joe and I last Friday, and said 'hey I've really been enjoying watching you guys train, I'd love to come,' and we kind of called his bluff.
"Two days later he was at the gym before us and he was like 'yo, here I am, let's train'.
"He's been hanging out training with us, looking after us, offering to go out and buy us food or anything we need. He's such a good dude, another one of those Kiwi icons. He's such a legend."
Join Newshub from 7am Sunday for live updates of David Nyika v Anthony Carpin, part of the undercard for Joseph Parker v Derek Chisora II
