Anthony Joshua?s stunning 11th round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko was a rarity in this modern era of prizefighting ? a blockbuster bout which more than lived up to the hype.
Two years ago, an ultra-cautious Floyd Mayweather and a secretly-injured Manny Pacquiao contested the mother of all stinkers in an event which smashed all records but left a global audience shortchanged and disgruntled.
This couldn?t have been more different. This was an instant classic, a throwback, boxing at its cinematic best. It was the type of fight which draws new fans to the sport. This was the rebirth of boxing?s marquee attraction ? the heavyweights.
Precious little in the whole of sport is as intoxicating as a genuine heavyweight thriller, and this one was played out in front of 90,000 live spectators and tens of millions more watching in over 140 countries worldwide.
This was both a tipping point for Joshua?s mass appeal and a watershed moment in the recent history of boxing?s top division.
The emergence of names like Joshua, Tyson Fury, Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder has seen interest in the big men rekindled. On Saturday night, it caught fire.
This crop may not be on the same level as the fabled names of yesteryear, but is surely a massive improvement on the endless line of one-dimensional suspects who have been sleepwalking into Klitschko?s fists for more than a decade. And in Joshua, this new generation has a leader. A transcendent star with global appeal who has the potential to restore heavyweight boxing to something like its previous popularity.
