"I always come, work the pads with them and give some hope, saying if their dream is to be a boxer, they can do it from these doors," Brown said as he looked around the gym run by his father Michael.

"I definitely see that the kids have come to follow in my footsteps and that's absolutely beautiful. If I can keep doing that, then that's my dream come true."

26-year-old Brown will be intent on making another dream come true when walking through a different set of doors, out into Manchester's cavernous Co-op Live Arena on Saturday night.

Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) will fight the unbeaten John Hedges (12-0, 3 KOs) for the vacant British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles. If things go as planned, it will be the first of many headline appearances.

We have recently seen a number of fighters skip British level, seeking the most direct route to world level. Winning the British title is an important personal landmark for Brown, who also sees it as a crucial developmental step.

"It's the heritage of the belt, the history and just everything about it," he said. "There are great people who have won that belt who've gone on to big things and I want to be a part of that. It's so prestigious and a lovely looking belt. If I can say I was a British champion like I was as an amateur then yeah, I would love that."

Brown has been positioned as one of Matchroom’s brightest prospects from the moment he agreed professional terms after competing at the 2024 Olympics. He's quickly come to terms with expectations of him and his value.

He has decided that the best way to handle the expectations is to be himself. Brown loves fighting but has little time for the histrionics associated with modern boxing.

"The thing is, times obviously change and you've got to keep up. I get that but it's a gentleman's sport. Don't get me wrong, if someone's going to start calling me this and that, I'm going to obviously retaliate, but the fundamentals of boxing is being a beacon of light for these kids growing up," he said.

"You've got to show them the way, what boxing actually means and that's having manners, not being a bully and all that stuff. I'm just really old school."

There does seem to be a good pinch of the old school about the new school of fighters.

Moses Itauma - still widely regarded as the future of the heavyweight division despite last month's defeat by Filip Hrgovic - is extremely quiet between fights and usually business-like during fight week.

WBO heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois has become one of British boxing's biggest draws despite a clear dislike of set piece media events.

The no-nonsense Brown and ice-cold middleweight hope Sam Hickey look well placed to follow them.

Over the next 12 months, a number of the fighters who have helped British boxing reach such heights over the past decade will depart the sport, leading a huge void. The new school will need to step up.

They will be hyped up in glossy promotional videos and given the chance to establish themselves but the hole will be far easier to fill if the noise is backed up by the type of action and authenticity Brown brings.

"We know our talent. We know we'll get there with our boxing ability," Brown continued.

"The media and all the stuff that comes with it, that's just a bonus but we're not going out there just solely looking for that. I've got a rule of thumb. I'll be myself all the time and if people like it, so be it. If they don't, I'm not going to change."