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Ben Whittaker’s love of America comes from two childhood rituals.
There was an early morning wake-up call to watch Floyd Mayweather stun at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
And then there were the days in front of the TV watching the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris as he got to know Brooklyn and New York.
The British light-heavyweight will try to live out his own American dream when he faces Richard Rivera in his US debut on Saturday.
Darlaston-born Whittaker, 29, features on the undercard of Xander Zayas’ WBA and WBO super-welterweight title defense against Jaron Ennis at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
It’s the next step in a journey he hopes will one day take him to the place multi-weight world champion Mayweather has called home for much of his career, and that is Las Vegas – the fight capital of the world.
“I woke up and watched Mayweather’s big fights as a kid. I think the first one was Mayweather vs. Oscar de la Hoya (in 2007) and of course Ricky Hatton,” Whittaker told BBC Sport.
“I was like, ‘Man, this sounds crazy. I want to be involved in something like this’. Going to my first fight in America will be the start, hopefully.
“I call it baby steps. You start in New York, finish in Vegas.”
But New York and especially Brooklyn also have some meaning for the West Midlands boxer. Because he devoured episodes of the TV sitcom that was a semi-autobiographical show based on comedian Chris Rock.
“I’d say if New York means anything to me, it means everybody hates Chris,” Whittaker said. “I just remember watching it and it was set in New York and Brooklyn. Then you come into a music culture, the city has a lot of music that I listen to.
“Fashion is big there, too. Oddly enough, I’ve been associated with New York a lot of my life, really. I’ve been out there five, six times. I’ve gotten a lot of love there, so it’s going to be a good one.”
