James DeGale is delighted that his unification clash with Badou Jack will take place in New York and believes it can only serve to benefit him.
DeGale (23-1-KO14) will put his IBF super-middleweight belt on the line when he takes on WBC title-holder Jack on January 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
'Chunky' and Jack retained their respective belts on the same card in Washington DC in April but neither has fought since.
A showdown between the pair has long been mooted and the fight has now officially been confirmed for New York and DeGale is pleased with the announcement.
"I'm really happy with it being in New York, it's a wonderful city and this will be a great night.," he exclusively told Sky Sports, before heading out for the press conference.
"I was quite looking forward to potentially fighting in Las Vegas, but now so many more people can come over. It's a shorter flight and I'm sure that I will have a lot of support which I really appreciate.
"Jack lives in Vegas so New York is pretty much neutral territory. My flight there will only be slightly longer, so it's definitely more of an even playing field now.
"The Barclays Center is a beautiful arena and the atmosphere always looks fantastic. I watched Carl Frampton beat Leo Santa Cruz there and saw Daniel Jacobs face Peter Quillin - it always looks unbelievable."
DeGale is confident that fighting Jack will bring out the best in him, but is by no means overlooking the Floyd Mayweather-promoted WBC champion.
"Jack is very underrated and he doesn't get the credit he deserves. This is the best against the best and fans are in for a treat.
"The better the opposition, the better I fight and I've showed that in my last three or four fights.
"I faced Andre Dirrell who is an unbelievable, elite fighter and raised my game to beat him and boxed extremely well.
"Then I faced Lucian Bute in a mandatory defence and didn't perform - I stooped down to his level. That's no disrespect to him, a very good fighter, but I raise my game against the very best.
"This is my opportunity to put in a tremendous performance and I want to put on an even better show than Frampton did earlier this year."