Kiwi-Tongan heavyweight Junior Fa has only afforded himself the briefest of moments to envision what his walk to the ring in front of a fervent crowd of 57,000-plus fans at Marvel Stadium will feel like, when he makes his return to the ring against Australian Lucas Browne on Sunday.
The last of three NZ fighters in action on the undercard, Fa will undoubtedly draw the ire of a parochial Victorian crowd which will obviously be in the corner of the Australian journeyman, as they warm-up their vocal chords for local hero George Kambosos Jr's defence of his WBO, WBA, and IBF lightweight titles against American Devin Haney.
Cheers or boos - it's all fuel for the City Kickboxing product, who intends to harness every last ounce of that energy and put it to use between the ropes.
"I've done a lot of work with my mental space and I've done a lot of work with my breathing space so, come fight night, it's just going to be the same thing - calm down and embrace everything," Fa told Newshub. "Just go out there and have fun.
"I am looking forward to walking out there in front of thousands of people. They're all going to be clapping or booing, it doesn't really matter, I just can't wait for it.
"It's an interesting one because it's something that you can't really prepare for in the gym."
Kiwi Olympic bronze medallist David Nyika leads the Kiwi contingent on Sunday, taking on Karim Maatalla in a cruiserweight contest, before Hemi Ahio squares off with Christian Ndzie, followed by his teammate Fa.
It's more a case of excitement for the 32-year-old, whose desire to showcase the improvements he's made over the past 16 months puts any extra sense of nerves relating to the magnitude of the occasion at ease.
Fa hasn't fought since his loss to compatriot and former world champion Joseph Parker back in February 2021 - the first of his 20-bout pro career. The judges didn't score in his favour that night, which he reflects on with a touch of frustration and a certain sense of what may have been had he increased his work rate.
But in some ways, Fa admits the bout against Browne presents an even bigger opportunity to boost his profile, given the global spotlight that will be shining on Kambosos Jr - whose win over Teofimo Lopez in November propelled him to superstardom.
The eyes of the boxing world will be firmly fixed on Melbourne this weekend, where a statement performance from Fa would provide an enormous boost to his profile, allowing him to unlock that next tier of marquee heavyweights and infiltrate the all-important divisional rankings.
Even Browne - who lost to former NRL star Paul Gallen last April - would admit his best years are behind him. But the 43-year-old still carries a certain degree of name recognition, with 33 professional bouts to his name, including wins over the likes of Chauncy Welliver and James Toney. His most recent bout was a seventh-round knockout of Faiga Opelu in December to claim the WBA Oceania heavyweight title.
"This is huge," Fa said. "Much bigger than myself and Joseph Parker when we fought.
"I'm counting myself really lucky that I get to be on this undercard fighting a name like Lucas Browne. So I don't take that lightly. I'm going to be coming in to put on a great performance here.
"A win over a name like his will get me in talks with the likes of the heavyweights over in the UK or in the US. He's made a bit of a following up in the UK, so I guess me beating him will probably turn heads there. "What I want out of this fight is just bigger fights, bigger names. Doesn't matter who, I just want bigger names."
In recent years, England has established itself as the hotbed of the heavyweight boxing scene, leveraging the success of heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and the likes of contenders Dillian Whyte to become the most desirable destination for the division's premier fighters.
Both Parker and Nyika are now based in the English coastal town of Morecambe, training under renowned coach Andy Lee and sparring regularly with 'The Gypsy King'.
While he's content to leave such decisions to his management teams, Fa - who's targeting two more fights before the year is out - admitted he's eager to head north to test the waters.
"I would love to go there and fight. There's such a massive, massive boxing scene for the heavyweights there.I would definitely love it."
Of course, the Aucklander isn't reluctant to think too far beyond the imminent challenge presented by Browne this weekend.
That said, Fa doesn't foresee too many issues having his hand raised - and in convincing fashion.
Asked where he holds the advantage over Browne, Fa's answer leaves little room for doubt.
"Most things," Fa said matter of factly. "I just feel like I'm going to have his number. He's too slow.
"He is durable and he does bang hard. I can't take that away from him.
"I have no idea what round, but I'm just going to be boxing his brains out until he drops. That's the plan.
"I'm going to be displaying some beautiful boxing with a bit more aggression and with a bit more hurtful intent."
Join us from 12pm, Sunday for live updates of Junior Fa, Hemi Ahio, and David Nyika on the undercard of Kambosos Jr-Haney
