Stressful, thrilling, draining, addictive. Highs and lows come with the territory of a life inside the squared circle. Fighters both love and loathe the physical and emotional toll they put themselves through for just one night.
But Steve Lovett is an unabashed dream chaser. He wouldn't change a thing.
Lovett (17-2) will return to the ring against Reagan Dessaix (15-1) for the World Boxing Association Oceania light heavyweight title at Tweed Heads' Seagulls Rugby League Club on Saturday night.
For Lovett, this one has been a long time coming. His last opponent pulled out just days before they were supposed to dance in May. When the chance to fight on home soil popped up, he jumped at it.
He has been training under boxing icon Ronnie Shields in Houston since 2014, but for this camp he whisked himself away to train under a man that has been exactly where Lovett wants to go.
Lovett has been training on home soil with the man that unified a glamour division of his time in Australian boxing legend Danny Geale.
Amidst the humour of mashing potatoes with a hammer during tongue-in-cheek cooking videos that label him "America's worst cook" and dancing to AC/DC in the gym under the guise of a "fair dinkum feet wizard", Lovett's end goal has never wavered.
For the record, Lovett can cook - he was once a contestant on The Great Australian Bake Off. He can dance as well. Neither of those abilities can hold a candle to his skill in the ring.
A trip to Las Vegas to watch fellow Australian Jeff Horn attempt to defend a world championship on boxing's biggest stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena earlier this year - coincidentally at the same venue Lovett first competed at on United States soil - just fuelled the fire for the 33-year-old larrikin.
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