IF you want to fight in America, chances are you’ll have to break off training to do promotion – in America.

That is exactly the position I now find myself in, ready to hit the States for plenty of photo opportunities and interviews.

My super fight with Roy Jones at the world famous Madison Square Garden in New York is less than eight weeks away (November 8) and it is time to spread the word.

Is it a pain in the backside? A bit, but ultimately, this is a huge part of being a great fighter, you have to know how to sell a fight.

I fly out to New York on Sunday, will be in the Big Apple for a couple of days and then we’re straight on to Los Angeles.

Roy Jones will then come to London and then Cardiff and by that stage I am certain we will be sick of the sight of one another!

It’ll be interesting to see how things go between Roy and I.

I was reported this week as saying I want to shut him up and have a real go at him, but I think everyone knows that isn’t my style.

It’s a long time since I was the controversial, outspoken fighter at press events, frankly I think the public are a bit sick of seeing staged aggression at press conferences.

But… I do not want this to be at all cosy.

The last two big fights I had, with Mikkel Kessler and Bernard Hopkins, were very different in nature.

Mikkel clearly had an awful lot of respect for me and the feeling was mutual, barely a nasty word was spoken between us in the build-up to the fight.

It was left to Mogens Palle’s associate Michael Marley and my dad to make all the noise, a role they both fitted into seamlessly!

The Hopkins build-up was totally different. He talked. And talked. And talked. And talked.

If someone sends me the audio of our pre-fight press events I will never have a sleepless night again, he forced me into the role of respectful champion, and he was determined to become the pantomime villain.

Do you think Hopkins was bothered by the lack of support he had in the Thomas and Mack Centre? Not a chance. He was happy to be vilified, he knew he couldn’t sell a ticket so he had to be the bad guy.

Roy Jones wants to be the good guy. He’s been ringing me and texting me loads until the last couple of weeks.

“We’re friends first and foremost, lets do a rap song together,” all kinds of stuff he’s been suggesting.

Now I don’t want to have to go back to being brash and slating people to sell a fight, but I am not interested in being Roy Jones’ friend for now.

The guy ducked me for years and now the fight is on because his need is far greater than mine is, it’s as simple as that.

I am looking forward to getting out there and telling him that I am the better fighter, now and ten years ago, or five years ago, or whenever.

I am not going to be telling him how much I respect him.

Honestly, in the last few weeks it’s been hard to tell if Roy wants to fight me or marry me, but after next week he’ll be under no illusions that he’s in for the fight of his life.

I am intent on going out on top and I know I can knock out Roy Jones.

Two young British boxers to talk about to finish, firstly our own Nathan Cleverly.

Well, I say our own, but as you’ll have read in the Argus, Nathan has decided to move on from our gym.

I am personally disappointed because I have always been close to Nathan and I feel he’s taken matters into his own hands rather prematurely. He says it’s because of my split with Frank Warren, but dad and Frank have a perfectly fine working relationship and my split with Frank shouldn’t affect Nathan. It’s a real shame that he’s no longer with us and even though I think he’s made a mistake, I wish him all the best.

Finally, I guess I should be the 999,999th person to express an opinion about Amir Khan! Rarely have I seen so many people so quick and excited to pour scorn on someone.

For those of you who don’t live on this planet, Khan suffered his first loss on Saturday night – in his Sky TV pay per view debut – absolutely crushed inside a minute of the first round by a Colombian called Breidis Prescott.

I feel bad for Amir, he hasn’t become a rubbish fighter, and he’s still got plenty of talent.

But he’s always been over-confident, has too many people around him telling him he’s brilliant and I can’t begin to express how badly wrong his team got the opponent.

Everyone knows Khan’s chin is suspect, he was put down by Michael Gomez, a blown up super featherweight, last time out.

Yet there he is being put in the ring with a proper puncher, a seriously, seriously bad mistake from his team. Blame the coach or blame whoever.

It’s hard to comeback from such a defeat, but it can be done if the attitude is right, as Enzo Maccarinelli is trying to prove at the moment.

I wish Amir all the best.