Dalton Smith explained the moment that spurred him on to victory against Sam Maxwell on Saturday night.
Smith became the Commonwealth super lightweight champion when he stopped Maxwell in the seventh round with a brutal right hand.
The win also allowed him to claim the Lonsdale belt after making his third consecutive defence of the strap, and he is now expected to pursue bigger fights at 140lbs.,
The 26-year-old suffered cuts above both eyes but he said after the fight that it was that impediment that pushed him on to end things.
He explained: “It was the first time I’ve had a cut and felt the blood pouring. And I thought ‘this is why I’m a warrior and this is what I’m made for’.
“But I smelt blood and thought ‘this is where I turn it up’. I needed critics asking me if I was that good and I needed Sam to bring this out of me.
“In my career I want to become a world champion but I made a bit of history in my city to win the British title outright.”