Australia boxer Lucas Browne is enjoying "movie star" star treatment including an armed detail of three security officers leading into his world heavyweight title challenge in Chechnya.
The Sydneysider has the whole 25th floor of a five-star hotel in the capital Grozny restricted solely for use of his party and he features on large road-side billboards.
Browne (23-0, 20 KOs) will attempt to become the first Australian to hold a portion of the heavyweight crown when he takes on Uzbekistan's regular WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 21 KOs) on Saturday.
Browne admitted before flying in that he was nervous about travelling to a city which was hard hit in two recent wars and once rated the most-destroyed city on earth.
"I came over and wasn't sure what to expect," Browne told AAP from Grozny.
"I was a bit apprehensive, but I can honestly say that I have been treated with the utmost respect.
"The people here are extremely humble and extremely open. I've been treated like a movie star, it's been absolutely sensational.
"I think after the first day of being here and experiencing what's going on, I'm 100 per cent relaxed and ready to get on and focus on what I need to do."
At 196 cms and around 115 kilos Browne can look after himself, but he had no qualms about having the additional security of three men armed with revolvers.
"It's little bit strange, I'm generally quite a private person and being a bigger lad myself, no-one tends to bother me anyway," Browne said.
"At the same time it is extremely reassuring to know that there are people here to look after us and to show us around. They are very nice fellows."
Browne's manager Matt Clark described the training facilities as world class and made it clear the fight was being treated as a big event.
"Lucas and Chagaev are on enormous billboards on the main road into town," Clark told AAP.
"They've turned one side of a building into what looks like a makeshift heavy bag.
"There's life-sized cardboard cut-outs of the fighters."
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