Harlem Eubank writes exclusively for Argus readers...

The life I lead is not for everyone.

The life of a professional boxer is, in so many ways, not normal.

And when you see me in the ring at the Brighton Centre, a week today, under the bright lights, in front of a packed crowd and live to a huge audience on Channel 5, know that it has taken so much to get me to that moment.

Sacrifice is the foundation of every boxer’s career and for this, the most important training camp of my life, every facet of my preparation has gone up a level.

I’m proudly writing this, my second column for The Argus, in between punishing training sessions.

I have pushed my body to the limit in every session I have done, in this camp. I will finish each stint in the gym having drained my body of all its liquid and electrolytes, and I will have no energy.

I’ll go home, rest and refuel and just feel like having a sleep but do so knowing that in only a couple of hours, I will have to exhaust my body again, for my second session of the day.

Not just physically, but mentally, that is a major challenge. When you’ve got no energy yet know there is another session on the horizon, you fear those moments, but then you face it head on and it is right there and then, when you push the fatigue to the back of your mind, that reinforces that inner strength and fortitude that can make the difference in a fight.

As I say, this is not normal stuff, it’s a path we few choose and it’s the side of the sport that isn’t glamorous.

The lights, the cameras and the interviews are the glamorous parts of the job, but the other side is the sacrifice, the blood, sweat and tears, the pushing through when you don’t feel like training and, not to mention, the making of weight.

Earlier this week, I had my last sparring session of the camp. I’ve done more sparring for this fight, with Timo Schwarzkopf, than for any other fight in my career.

My fight next week is scheduled to go 12 rounds but to prepare my body and my mind, there have been sessions where we’ve done 15 rounds, and we’ve employed opponents with a mixture of styles.

And so, I know that I am ready to box and move with Schwarzkopf but, also, that I am ready to dig in and fight with this man if that is how the night evolves.

You hear this repeatedly, from every boxer, but hand on heart I feel like everything has clicked in this camp and, next week, I plan on delivering a career-best performance on the biggest night of my life.

I hope to see you there.

Take care,

Harlem