Lani Daniels’ first trek to the United States was a tumultuous one.

A 14-hour flight from New Zealand to Houston, Texas, was followed by a three-hour wait, only for the connecting flight to Detroit, Michigan, to be cancelled. After taking a roughly three-hour drive in an Uber from Houston to San Antonio, followed by another long wait, Daniels was finally on her way to Detroit for the press conference Monday ahead of her fight vs undisputed heavyweight champion Claressa Shields.

“I’m chuffed,” Daniels told The Ring. “I’m living the American dream. I’ve never been here, so it’s an all-in-one. I get to see other parts of the world while doing something I love.”

“It’s been an adventure,” Daniels added. “The excitement helped us through.”

That excitement is fueled by the opportunity of a lifetime that lies ahead for Daniels (11-2-2, 1 KO), who holds the IBF light heavyweight title and was previously the IBF heavyweight champion. She'll move back up to heavyweight to face Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) on July 26 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

“It represents so much,” Daniels said of her opportunity vs Shields. “It shows the small nation of New Zealand, and that shows my people that anything's possible, and Claressa says it herself. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, you can achieve anything with a bit of hard work. I'm here for a reason. It wasn't like they've just cherry-picked me.

“I've done the work and deserve to be here. I'm excited to be on this platform. I'm grateful for Claressa for shedding the light she has for women's boxing, and I'm excited for the opportunity to showcase to the world the skills that I know I have.”

Daniels enters on a seven-fight win streak. She became a two-division champion with a majority decision victory over Desley Robinson for the vacant IBF light heavyweight title on Dec. 2, 2023. In her lone title defense, Daniels defeated Bolatito Oluwole by unanimous decision on Sept. 7. She was forced to vacate her heavyweight title due to the IBF’s rule that a fighter can’t be ranked in two different divisions.

“My self-belief, that’s been the key to my successes," Daniels said. "You achieve what you believe in.”

Daniels’ fight vs Shields will be her first outside of New Zealand. She signed with Dmitriy Salita’s Salita Promotions ahead of the matchup.

“Daniels is determined,” Salita told The Ring. “She is gutsy. She is skilled. She held the title. She has nothing to lose and everything to win.”

Shields is a three-division undisputed champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Daniels knows what’s necessary if she’s going to pull off one of the biggest upsets in women's boxing.

“I have to turn up and be the best me on the night,” Daniels said. “Stay focused and use every moment I can to be the best. I need to turn up the best version of myself.”