Beef, bruises and Yorkshire puds: Simpson's Sunday best

The 28-year-old South Yorkshire super-middleweight had delivered the biggest win of his career on Saturday night, stopping his rival in a brutal and brilliant contest at Oakwell.

The bout was relentless—ten rounds of pressure, power shots, upper cuts and pure grit, until the referee waved it off with Simpson firmly in control and Zucco out of steam.

But what happened next showed just as much class as the fight itself.

By Sunday afternoon, Simpson was at Zucco’s hotel, exchanging team kits, meeting his opponent’s family, and introducing him - and his girlfriend - to a proper Yorkshire roast.

“After going to war with Ivan Zucco in the ring yesterday, today I went to his hotel to meet his family,” Simpson posted online.

“Exchanged team kits and then took him and his girlfriend out for food, introduced him to his first Yorkshire pudding as well.”

The two fighters, both sporting the marks of battle behind sunglasses, posed for a smiling photo in each other’s branded shirts.

“I think I managed to convince him that Barnsley is in fact better than Rome,” Simpson added with a wink.

The moment struck a chord locally and beyond, fans praising the show of humility, hospitality and mutual respect between two fighters who gave everything in the ring, then shared a table after.

“Nothing but respect for Ivan and Team Zucco - absolute class inside and outside the ring,” Simpson said.

Saturday night showed Simpson’s fire and ambition.

Sunday showed something even rarer in the fight game: warmth, wit and good humour.

Zucco may have lost his unbeaten record, but he gained a true culinary experience with a Yorkshire pudding topped with gravy.

*Five British boxers with some unusual dinner tastes

1: Naseem Hamed Sheffield's 'Prince' Naseem was known for his eccentricity in and out of the ring. One widely circulated tale claims he once requested Taramasalata with his steak in a Las Vegas hotel, baffling kitchen staff. While never confirmed directly, it’s the kind of flair that fits the Wincobank showman’s reputation.

2: Billy Joe Saunders. The former Ingle-trained champion has joked that mince pies are his kryptonite, once claiming he trained through the holidays with “a mince pie in each hand.”

While tongue-in-cheek, he’s been honest about struggling with weight between fights and said festive food was always his biggest battle.

3: Ricky Hatton The “Hitman” was as famous for his pub humour as his body shots. Known to balloon between fights, Hatton openly celebrated post-bout binges of chip butties, fry-ups and Guinness. “I train hard, fight hard, and eat like a bin,” he once said. Fans loved him for it.

4: Tyson Fury During his time away from boxing, Fury consumed what he described as “20 cans of Coca-Cola a day” and had a seriously sweet tooth. He called Haribo his downfall and joked that he was living on “cake and cola” before turning his life around.

5: Frank Bruno Bruno often spoke about keeping it simple: a traditional British diet of steak and kidney pie and a “six bananas a day” habit while in training camp. “Proper fuel,” he called it - unfussy, like his approach in the ring.