Hawke's Bay boxer Beau O'Brien owes his partner Lisa Timu a substantial 21st birthday present but a win in China on Saturday night will suffice.
"I'm supposed to be having time off with Lisa in the buildup to her 21st next week because I've been training my arse off for the last two-and-half years. But when this opportunity came up Lisa was really understanding and told me to take it ... it could open a lot of doors for me internationally," O'Brien explained.
The Napier Boxing Club fighter will take on China's "home town favourite" Kuok Kun Ng in the opening fight at Champions of Gold in Macau's Cotai Arena, a venue which has been described by O'Brien's trainer Rod Langdon as "the Las Vegas of Asia."
"We heard about the fight five weeks ago. We still don't know if it will be four rounds or six rounds ... but I'm picking it will be pretty even. We're the same age [23], same height [1.73m], same weight [69.8kgs] and both undefeated in the professional ranks although he has fought in a higher pool of fish than me," O'Brien said.
A Napier lawnmowing contractor, O'Brien has had five professional fights and holds the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association's light middleweight title as well as the Global Boxing Federation's Oceania Light Middleweight title.