Wednesday 2 December 2015 16:00, UK
After Tyson Fury dethroned the great Wladimir Klitschko, we delve in to recent memory to take you back to some other huge nights for British boxing.
The Mancunian produced a phenomenal display in Dusseldorf to outpoint the 39-year-old Ukrainian, snatching the WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles in the process.
It was a truly remarkable display from Fury - written off in the vast majority of quarters ahead of the fight - and he celebrated in customary style by treating a tearful wife, a jubilant entourage and a rowdy set of travelling fans to a song in the ring afterwards.
The evening of November 28, 2015 will echo through sport for some time as Fury ended Klitschko's 11-year reign as the showcase division's kingpin so, with that in mind, let's reminisce over some other magical nights.
Before Wladimir, there was Vitali. The older brother and another man mountain. Heading to California, Vitali had won all but one of his 33 professional bouts - relinquishing his WBO world heavyweight title in April 2000 when retiring in the seventh against Chris Byrd with a shoulder injury.
Two years previously, WBC king Lewis had suffered a shock fifth-round knockout to Hasim Rahman but quickly regained his belt in a rematch. His only prior defeat came in 1994 against Oliver McCall - another defeat he avenged. Lewis and Klitschko had been on a collision course for some time.
There was little artistry about the opening exchanges as Lewis flew at his man with two overhand rights, but Vitali's right hand was soon in action and an enthralling fight developed throughout the early rounds. Lewis was rocked to his boots by one of those rights and had to muster up everything to stay up and re-establish his jab.
Lewis was looking increasingly ragged as Vitali began to tee-up one-twos but at the start of the third, an accurate right-hand from the Briton opened up a nasty cut on Vitali's left upper-eyelid. From that point on, Lewis beginning to load up on vicious uppercut. The fight was called off on cuts in the champion's favour after the sixth with Klitschko leading on all three scorecards. It would be Lewis' farewell fight while Vitali went on to win the title he vacated.
Ricky Hatton will go down as one of Britain's most popular world champions ever. It seems the whole of Manchester was at the Manchester Arena to see him fight Australia's legendary super-lightweight Kostya Tszyu, who had already accounted for the likes of Zab Judah and Julio Cesar Chavez.
Tszyu had lost just once before and that defeat came back in 1997. Hatton was up against it and although he had held a version of a world title, this was undoubtedly a significant step up in class for the 26-year-old, who would hear the opening bell as the underdog to take Tszyu's IBF crown.
Hatton's hustling style won him no points for aesthetics and he often found himself on the end of some classic counter-punching from the visitor - but the atmosphere and his sheer desire prevented any sign of wavering. The challenger continued to surge forward and had a case for winning several rounds solely on work-rate.
Tszyu, 35, was failing to live with the pace set by Hatton and had fallen slightly behind on the scorecards ahead of the final round. The end still came as a surprise though, when his trainer Johnny Lewis refused to let him out for the final session - sparking wild scenes of celebration in the arena as Hatton sank to his knees in both elation and exhaustion.
Nikolay Valuev was (and presumably still is) a giant. A fearsome man standing seven feet tall and with the kind of demeanour that would ward most mortals off the idea of agreeing to trade punches with him in an enclosed space. Enter David Haye, who had had one fight since stepping up from cruiserweight.
Giving away almost an entire foot in height and almost 100lbs in weight, it was billed as David v Goliath and for a change, the slogan was perfectly apt. Valuev held the WBA heavyweight title and had tasted defeat just once in his career - a points reverse to Ruslan Chagaev.
In Haye's corner was a rising young trainer in Adam Booth, who had worked tirelessly with the Bermondsey fighter on a plan to defy physics and relieve Valuev of the belt. The plan worked beautifully throughout with Haye using his superior speed and footwork to nullify Valuev's crude attempts at cornering him.
There was nearly a knockout that would have stunned the world, too. In the final round, Haye teed up a big left hook that prompted Valuev to stumble backwards and then sideways on unsteady legs - rubber-stamping a majority points decision for Haye and ensuring the fall of a giant.
The bad blood and the controversy of the first fight between Carl Froch and George Groves made the second one a colossal occasion for British boxing. The climax of one of the sport's favourite soap operas sold out Wembley with many picking Groves to complete the job he'd started in Nottingham.
Had the first fight been stopped prematurely? Was Groves comfortably ahead when it was? How much would both fighters improve for that experience? Why was Froch seemingly more comfortable with Groves' pre-bout taunts this time around? All these questions would be answered at the national football stadium.
Groves began confidently, seeming surer than ever that tonight would be the night he would become IBF and WBA world super-middleweight champion. Froch did not suffer the first-round knockdown on this occasion, though, and while he was outboxed at times by the younger, faster man, there was a sense that it was when and not if his right hand would find the challenger.
The show-ending punch was befitting of such an occasion. 'The Cobra' unleashed a lightning right that caught Groves in the process of throwing a left and sent the Londoner spinning to the canvas, his leg bent awkwardly as he fell. He rose eventually but was in no fit state to continue.
You can book the two-hour repeats of Klitschko vs Fury now, via your Sky remote and online. The repeats start 9.00am, Sunday, with the last showing at 11.00pm.
