Sheffield hit by Hurricane Hopewell: Nicola Hopewell wins IBO world flyweight title
On the night Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois took centre-stage in a blockbuster heavyweight unification bout, there was another bit of boxing business going on in Sheffield.
Handsworth-trained Nicola Hopewell was also fighting for the right to call herself a world champion.
"Hurricane" Hopewell took on reigning champion Marie Connan (previously 7-3) for the IBO world flyweight title at Skate Central, leading a Dennis Hobson bill. And won.
Her purse won't quite rival Usyk and Dubois, who are said to have shared a total purse worth $ 203 million (£176.2m).
And a woman winning the IBO won't guarantee headlines across the planet.
But neither fame nor money had any influence on the teary emotions shown by Nicola after 10 highly competitive rounds of the pair pounding each other mercilessly.
She had climbed the mountain and become an elite fighter.
And you ain't seen nothing yet, according to her backers.
Trainer Daz Medcalf said her performance hadn't been her best, promising: "She is going to get better and better."
Former world champion Ebanie Bridges, who had been by her side at Skate Central, confirmed: "She can do better than that - there is so much more to show."
For now, the belt fits neatly around the waist of staunch Sheffield United fan Nicola, who didn't feel the need to start calling out future unification opponents.
After all, the IBO is not to be sniffed at; previous male winners in the sanctioning body include Anthony Joshua, Lennox Lewis, and more recently Chris Eubank Jr.
The likes of Gabriela Fundora and Maria Magdalena Rivera would look good on the 33-year-old's dance card, though!
The victory was anything but straightforward, as the eventual split decision confirmed.
The Riley's gym-trained current Commonwealth champion and 41-year-old Frenchwoman Marie shared a high-intensity, even start, where no quarter was given and neither established a commanding lead.
They were like two terriers snarling and lunging at each other.
There was little in the way of accurate shots; they constantly smothered each other's work.
I thought Nicola was slightly behind until the sixth round when she unleashed a flurry of shots that sent Marie sliding down to the ropes to the canvas.
From that moment on, the reigning champion from Loir-et-Cher was desperately lurching forward like a boxing zombie.
At the end of ten pulsating rounds, it was almost a shame to declare a winner.
But two of the three judges ensured Sheffield added Nicola Hopewell's name to the city's long and rich history of hosting world boxing champions.
And she did it in just nine professional fights.
Nicola is used to coming first - she was Worksop's first female professional boxer. Now she will be looking to enhance that position with defences and other challenges.
On the Fightzone undercard, Leeds' super lightweight Billy Pickles and Doncaster's Hughie Wilson, who trains at Ryan Rhodes' Shalesmoor gym, went at each other for 10 similarly gruelling rounds.
Wilson picked up a nasty cut below his eye after a clash of heads, and Pickles won on a split decision.
The West Yorkshireman's game plan of getting inside Wilson's long arms was obviously to the judges' liking.
"It was a right war," Pickles acknowledged, sporting two Panda-like black eyes.
Novice Sheffield super welter Dylan Trevor chalked up his third career win with a confident four-round victory over Stockport journeyman Dale Arrowsmith.
He'll probably remember the after-match comments more than the fight itself - promoter Hobson saying his attitude and determination reminded him of the Central Area stage in the career of Clinton Woods.
His trainer, John Fewkes, said the fighter was impressing him more with every spar and every fight.
The Fightzone show started with a routine battle between two Bradford southpaw heavyweights, Dan Garber outpointing Ryan Labourn.
Later there was a full-blooded heavyweight encounter between Londoner Simon Ibekwe and Middlesbrough's Will Howe, the points win going to the southerner.
Meanwhile, Aadam Hamed (now 6‑0) - son of Ingle icon Naseem - beat journeyman Ezequiel Gregores (3‑24) on points on the Usyk v Dubois undercard at Wembley.