Daniel Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley in a heavyweight title fight in front of 18,000 fans in Manchester last weekend. Referee Howard Foster stood between both fighters with a blood-soaked shirt before raising the hand of Dubois in victory.
The bout was an old-fashioned brawl between two heavyweights in the prime of their careers. If a rematch clause is activated, promoters could move the fight to a venue with triple the capacity and easily sell it out.
The contest showed what a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury should have been ten years ago, exposing how long those two have dodged each other. Joshua and Fury are set to share a ring later this year, but both enter as diminished fighters past their best.
The British heavyweight division remains in good health with rising stars like Dubois, Wardley, and Moses Itauma. Itauma has the potential to become the best fighter of the group.
Scottish boxing struggles for new champions
North of the border, Scottish boxing lacks star names and potential world champions. The shortage of top-class talent in Scotland has come sharply into focus over the past month.
Hopes were high that Nathaniel Collins could fight at world level, but he suffered a hammer blow last month. Collins lost a split decision on points to Cristobal Lorente of Spain at The Hydro in Glasgow.
Had Collins won, he would have become the mandatory challenger for the WBC featherweight world title. Instead, the 29-year-old suffered the first defeat of his career in front of his home crowd.
Collins previously fought Lorente at the Braehead Arena last October, which ended in a draw on the judges' scorecards. His management company, Queensberry, owned by Frank Warren, then moved the rematch to The Hydro.
Low attendance at Glasgow venue
The Hydro event saw the entire top tier closed, while the bottom tier contained plenty of empty seats. A promoter like Warren may not hurry back when a Scottish fighter cannot sell out Glasgow's top venue for a world title eliminator.
The sparse crowd reflected a wider malaise in Scottish boxing that was coming down the tracks even when Josh Taylor was at his peak. Taylor put together one of the greatest runs in British boxing history, becoming the first undisputed world champion in the four-belt era in just 18 fights.
However, Taylor was mismanaged for years by Top Rank and was past his best by the time he signed with Queensberry. His career might have developed differently if Eddie Hearn and Matchroom had promoted him during his prime.
Lack of depth in Scottish ranks
Scottish boxing has failed to build on the legacy left by Taylor, and the cupboard remains bare. Other Scottish prospects have also failed to establish themselves at the top level.
Lee McGregor was once a major hope, but Collins stopped him emphatically when the pair met at The Hydro last year. High expectations now surround Reese Lynch, who won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the light-welterweight division, repeating the success of Taylor at Glasgow 2014.
Lynch has only three professional fights, making it too early to know if he can reach similar heights. The situation mirrors Scottish tennis, which failed to build on the legacy of Andy Murray.
While Dubois and Wardley produced a world title classic last weekend, Scottish fighters remain far from entering that level of competition.
