Arsene Fosso feels like he has to prove it, "that you can start from nowhere and go somewhere".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It's why the boxing heavyweight can do little but laugh as he glances around the Stockade Training Centre tucked down an alley behind a construction site in a largely industrial area.
"The gym is different than my gym back home," Fosso said.
Home for Fosso is Cameroon. That's where his journey started, standing in front a punching bag hanging from a tree in a poverty-stricken village.
The former amateur world championship medallist arrived in Australia for the Commonwealth Games almost three years ago, and fled to start a new life in Canberra.
MORE SPORT
So it's in the capital Fosso [3-1] takes on Jamie Porter [10-6] under the bright lights of national television at Exhibition Park's Coorong Pavilion on Friday night. The event is headlined by world-rated featherweight Brock Jarvis and Nort Beauchamp's regional title fight.
Porter is the third opponent Fosso has had lined up. Former world title holder Lucas Browne reneged on his contract before Faiga Opelu withdrew injured.
But you could put almost anyone you'd like in the ring, because Fosso's humble beginnings mean "I've been prepared for this fight for a long time".
"You know where I was training there, back home on a tree? I had my bag on a tree. I'd think I've got to kill this bag, and then I've got to do some other exercises, some workouts with weights, just to get ready every day," Fosso said.
"It's hard in Africa, bro. Boxing is hard everywhere. Back in Cameroon, there were days we would be sparring six, seven times a week. A full week.
"Everyone wanted to be the best. To be number one, you had to work harder than everyone else. Back home, I would be training hard but sometimes I didn't have a good recovery. Here, you have good people around you who tell you 'you have to do this'.
"I think I have to prove it, to show the world, that you can start from nowhere and go somewhere."
NATIONAL BOXING SERIES
Friday, April 23: National Boxing Series Volume Seven - Brock Jarvis v Nort Beauchamp at EPIC's Coorong Pavilion, 6pm.
Fight card:
IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Global featherweight titles: Brock Jarvis [18-0] v Nort Beauchamp [18-3]
WBO Oriental and IBF Australasian middleweight titles: Issac Hardman [8-0] v Mark Lucas [10-2]
ANBF Australian super featherweight title: Ben Dencio [8-3] v TC Priestley [3-4]
Heavyweight: Arsene Fosso [3-1] v James Porter [10-6]
Super welterweight: Abe Archibald [5-0-1] v Michael Hall [7-1]
Welterweight: Jorge Kapeen [2-1] v Ryan Cotten [5-6-2]