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All this week, London's leading boxer David Haye will write an exclusive diary for the Evening Standard as he prepares for Saturday's world heavyweight championship showdown with Russian giant Nikolai Valuev. Six days and counting, here is the Hayemaker's first entry.
This is my chance to fulfil a dream I've been working towards for 19 years. Since I first laced on a pair of boxing gloves as a 10-year-old, I've told anyone who will listen that, one day, I'll become heavyweight champion of the world. Now it's about to happen.
The obstacle standing between me and my ambition is 7ft 2ins 'Beast From The East' Nikolai Valuev, the WBA title holder from Russia. 'The Beast' weighs a staggering 23-stone and it's my job to cut him down to size in Nuremberg on Saturday night.
This morning I left my training base at the Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel in London and boarded a plane for Germany, where I face a week of interviews and hype - and rare moments of quiet.
I'll be taking part in a media work-out tomorrow, followed by a final press conference on Wednesday. The weigh-in is on Friday, and the slaying of 'The Beast' will occur in the final hours of Saturday.
In the week of a fight I try to stay as relaxed and 'normal' as possible. I don't get wound-up, angry or agitated. It's important to not get nervous ahead of a fight, as that can only have a detrimental effect on your performance.
The time to switch on and get 'in the zone' won't arrive until the day of the fight.
Although I try to relax as much as possible ahead of a fight, I also know the importance of withdrawing myself from the company of loved ones in the final days.
I'll be going into war on Saturday and there's a certain hard mindset you need to be in before you approach any fight.
I'm in Germany to do a job and that job will result in me bringing back the WBA championship belt to Britain. The time for publicity stunts, verbal digs and hype is nearly over. 'The Beast' has heard me coming, but he won't see me coming. War is just around the corner.
* The fight will be screened live and exclusively on Sky Box Office (Sky channel 743) on Saturday from 9.30pm. To order call 08442 410888 or book via the box office function on your Sky remote control
