As most of you will know, I've been based in Los Angeles for training since last Autumn. When I first went out there it was on the kind of 90-day visa most people get when they go on holiday. But because when I go back it will be for a bit longer, I had to get a visa which lasts up to six months.

Anyone who's been on holiday to the States in the last couple of years will know how fiddly it can be with visa waivers and stuff like that, so you can imagine how much worse it is when you want to stop out longer.

I should have been out there by now working hard and enjoying the sunshine, but when I phoned up to apply I got knocked back - I couldn't believe it!

The reason was I got a police caution when I was a kid. Lots of boxers have got dodgy pasts, getting into trouble when they were young. But all I did was steal a few nails from a building site. Oh, and a shovel!

The caution gets wiped off your record after five years, so I'd pretty much forgotten about it by now - it was 12 years ago after all. But it still counted against my visa application.

To get it sorted out, I had to drive all the way down to the American Embassy in London a few days ago.

I got up at 3 o'clock in the morning to leave at quarter past. Things were going well until I hit traffic at quarter to eight.

In the end I had to park up and run there to make it in time for 9 o'clock.

When I got there they asked me about my caution and I was really nervous about it in case I got knocked back, but luckily I didn't. I got home to Sunderland at about 6 o'clock.

Even that was just the end of a long process, though. I'd already had to get in touch with the police by letter and email, and pay to get letters delivered to say I wasn't wanted for anything, and didn't have any other convictions.

It must have cost me £200 for all that, and more than £300 for the visa. Then there was the cost of the petrol to get down there. I'm lucky the sponsored Nissan Benfield Motors give me doesn't use much petrol, so I got there and back with some to spare in the tank, but with the price of petrol in this country - it's miles cheaper in the States! - that was still expensive.

It all gave me something other than boxing to talk about when I was on a schools visit at Sandfill View this week, and I'm hoping to do some more when I'm next back in June/July. One thing's for sure, I wished I'd just bought a bag of nails 12 years ago - it would have been miles cheaper!

By the way, those of you who enjoy reading this blog might be interested to know that from April 3 I'll be writing a column every week in the Sunday Sun, so I hope you'll all be rushing down to the newsagents to buy a copy!