This was a night almost two decades in the making but it felt like it was all over in a flash.
Boxing fans were not left disappointed, though, as two of Britian’s very best went toe to toe at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.
The awesome Kell Brook has chased down Amir Khan for years and that spite and anguish told as he forced a sixth round stoppage.
The Manchester Arena has seen some great nights over the years, bragging rights claimed, scores settled, and this one will go down as one of the best as Sheffield’s Brook delivered a career-defining performance against Khan.
Khan held the majority of the support in the building and while those screams of encouragement created an atmosphere like nothing else, they couldn’t carry the Olympic silver medallist over the line on the night.
The Bolton man was ever so slightly the underdog on the night, and the bookmakers were proved right as he was made to do a silly dance in the very first round as Brook raced out of the blocks.
Khan’s name echoed around the arena as he settled into the contest, but his opponent won the following three rounds as he hunted his target around the ring with a grin on his face and venom in his eyes.
Then came the round that Brook has every right to hang on his career on as his dominance and power forced the referee to step in and halt the contest just before the half way stage.
At the end of it all, Brook and Khan finally settled their differences in the ring with a smile and an embrace and the boxing fans who had waited so long for this fight to happen went home happy.
For Khan, 35, this is surely the end. "I need to sit down with my family," he said afterwards. "That love for the sport is not there anymore like it was before. I felt quite flat, I think that's maybe a sign I should be calling it a day, but let's see."
It was a night dreams were made of for Natasha Jonas, who jumped up a whopping two weight divisions to win the WBO super welterweight title with a second round knockout against Uruguayan Chris Namus.
Former Team GB captain Frazer Clarke was able to clock off early on his professional debut as he saw off Jake Darnell with a first round stoppage.
Adam Azim brought one of the biggest cheers on the night with his devastating knockout and subsequent backflip setting the tone for what was a spectacular night of action.
There was a win for local lad Bradley Rea before the 19-year-old Azim despatched of Jordan Ellison.
Rea, who hails from Stretford, lived up to his ‘Sting’ nickname as he left Craig McCarthy on the deck with a strong flurry of furious punches.
This one may have been tough to make but it was well worth the wait.
