The popular Anthony Crolla takes on Jorge Linares in Manchester on Saturday - but which other Britons have inspired the masses?
WBA world lightweight king Crolla (31-4-3-KO13) defends his crown against three-weight world champion Linares (40-3-KO27) and is looking to continue a remarkable run of fights at the Manchester Arena.
'Million Dollar' was narrowly denied completion of his fairytale in July 2015 when controversially held to a majority draw against Darleys Perez, but he was not to be denied again - sinking the Colombian in the rematch with a vicious fifth-round body shot to ignite home fans.
The champion had no hesitation stepping in with heavy-handed mandatory challenger Ismael Barroso in May and recorded another famous stoppage. Now, he takes on an even classier Venezuelan in Linares, who was last seen in the UK in May 2015 when he halted Kevin Mitchell.
Crolla's story has been highly publicised and he has Manchester behind him. Let's recall some other British fighters who commanded similar patronage from their hometowns...
Frank Bruno
London
Few fighters from the capital have attracted the same adoration as heavyweight Bruno, and the combination of relief and unbridled joy that flooded Wembley in September 1995 when he finally got his hands on a world title was nearly palpable.
Prior to that glorious victory over Oliver McCall, Bruno had been stopped by Tim Witherspoon, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in world title bids. He would lose a rematch with the latter in his final fight but still to this day, whenever cameras cut to him ringside, up go cries of 'Bruno! Bruno!'
John Conteh
Liverpool
A fast-punching, fast-living world light-heavyweight champion, Conteh cut a dash through the sport having taken it up at the age of 10 in Kirkby. By the age of 19, he boasted a middleweight Commonwealth gold medal and a year later, he turned professional and moved to London.
Seen by many as the most talented fighter Liverpool - and some say Britain - has produced, Conteh's coronation came at Empire Pool, Wembley in 1974 in front of 10,000. Of the 40,000 present when he controversially lost the crown in Belgrade, Serbia, needless to say more than a handful of Liverpudlians were vocal in their complaints.
Ricky Hatton
Manchester
Arguably the British fighter who has commanded the most widespread support, Hatton famously took a staggering 30,000 fans with him to take on the great Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas in 2007. The atmosphere at the weigh-in alone was phenomenal.
Another 20,000 of his supporters showed up in the same city to watch him fall short against Manny Pacquiao and even for his ill-fated comeback against Vyacheslav Senchenko, he carried the hopes and dreams of countless Mancunians. Crolla has a tough act to follow.
Barry McGuigan
Belfast
McGuigan represented a figure of unity in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. In his own words: "My fights felt a little like sunshine. Both sides would say: 'Leave the fighting to McGuigan.' You see, it was also entertainment - people loved to forget the Troubles a while."
With a European featherweight title already to his name, McGuigan's big night came in 1985 when an enthusiastic crowd of 26,000 at Loftus Road witnessed him relieve Eusebio Pedroza of the WBA world title. He would return to defend his crown in Belfast and then Dublin.
Henry Cooper
London
It has become the stuff of legend. Cooper fought the great Muhammad Ali twice - both in his home city and both at football stadiums. In the first clash, the Bellingham heavyweight even managed to knock down the man then known as Cassius Clay with 'Enry's 'Ammer' (his trademark left hook).
Known affectionately as 'Our Henry', Cooper won and lost British, Commonwealth and European titles throughout his career and even after his final fight - a 1971 points defeat to Joe Bugner, he remained in the public eye with a string of quiz show and advertisement appearances.
Watch Crolla v Linares, live on Sky Sports 2 this Saturday from 7.30pm