IT is July 18 and Amir Khan has just won his first world title on his own doorstep at the MEN Arena.
It is the dawn of a new era for British boxing - the coming of age of a national hero, who first captured the public's imagination as a charismatic 17-year-old when winning Olympic silver in 2004.
But something's not right with this picture.
While Khan celebrates in the ring and the world's media prepare to hail him Britain's next great hope, the pockets of empty seats around the arena tell another story.
Fast forward to Saturday night and the roof is virtually blown off an MEN Arena packed to its 20,000 capacity as the considerably less well known Michael Bisping floors Denis Kang in two rounds to the delight of the baying crowd.
Clitheroe's adopted Mancunian Bisping is not a household name - yet. But he, and a sport that was once dismissed as "human cockfighting" by US presidential candidate John McCain, are clearly striking a chord with the latest generation of fight fans.
The rise of UFC - the Ultimate Fighting Championship - has not gone unnoticed by boxing's bigwigs, who fear it will one day establish itself as the world's number one combat sport.
"It is all action, proper fighting," said Ricky Hatton recently. "They are going the right away about it to get people interested.
"There is a concern in boxing that UFC is taking its place. People seem to get more value for money."
Cacophony
It may still be some time before UFC usurps boxing - and for the purists it never will. But sitting ringside on Saturday, with a cacophony of noise ringing in your ears, it was hard not to think of this as the future.
At once terrifying, exhilarating and intriguing, it is pure car crash entertainment - like being parachuted into a post-apocalyptic world of lawlessness. For the soundbite, video-game-playing, reality star, Twitter-obsessed generation, it is pitch perfect. A cross between Strictly Come Dancing, Street Wars, When Pets go Bad and the WWE.
Critics would describe it as the embodiment of everything that is wrong with modern culture - while others would say it is the natural step forward.
Whatever your opinion, few could argue that it is an example of genius marketing - the likes of which boxing is already looking to emulate.
HBO's hugely popular 24/7 shows are the type of tool UFC has been using to promote interest and create back stories to make its fighters cult heroes. Reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, in which emerging mixed martial artists, like Bisping, compete for six-figure UFC contracts has proved a goldmine.
Creating heroes and villains like wrestling has done for decades, UFC is pushing the boundaries of cult phenomenon to mainstream sport. More than half a BILLION people watched UFC 100 in 150 different countries and it currently boasts a revenue of around $250m annually. UK UFC president, Marshall Zelaznik, believes it is only a matter of time before it is on a par with boxing in terms of popularity.
"In five years time people will be watching UFC in the same way the world stopped to watch Muhammed Ali fight George Foreman, that's how big this sport will be," he said.
A triumph of marketing, yes. But it takes more than slick production to grow at the rate UFC has - a sport that was all but dead eight years ago.
There is a genuine product here. A brutal spectacle that barely gives you chance to catch your breath, it is like stumbling across the most vicious of Friday night street brawls. Its pace - fought over three, five-minute rounds - all but eliminates the bore-fests that can occur in boxing - and the massive TV screens make it impossible to miss any action.
True, it lacks the grace, art and discipline of boxing - but you would have struggled to find anyone at the MEN Arena complaining about that.
Like it or not, a generation increasingly desensitised by violence, wants to see combat in its rawest form - and this is the place to get it.
Nottingham's "Outlaw" Dan Hardy is a truly terrifying individual, while Bisping cuts a more charismatic figure. But both clearly tap into the public's imagination in a way Khan appears not to.
It would be easy to suggest UFC 105 provoked more interest than Khan's WBA title fight with Andreas Kotelnik because it is a sport rarely staged on these shores.
But it is not as if Khan fights for world titles in Manchester every week.
This is hardly the death knell for boxing - just a gentle wake up call. If ever the sport needed a shot in the arm, it came via Manny Pacquiao in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The pound-for-pound number one is doing more than anyone to keep boxing at the top of the tree - and his awesome stoppage of Miguel Cotto suggested he is arguably the finest sportsman in the world right now.
Should he fight Floyd Mayweather it would be difficult to imagine any other sporting contest matching it.
Pacquiao and Mayweather, however, are the rarest of beasts.
If they are the now - UFC could be the future.
Tweet
Showing comments 1 to 12 and replies | View All
PatBlackFlash (17/11/2009 at 13:30)
Free Ian Brown, Denton (17/11/2009 at 13:35)
What UFC offers that boxing is failing to provide is genuine 50/50 match ups, the best fighting the best, and good quality undercards.
Long may it continue, and as a huge boxing fan, hopefully promoters will cotton on to what fight fans crave.
Steve B (17/11/2009 at 14:29)
Its clear that you understand the visceral side of the sport first and have absolutely no knowledge of the intricacies of it. Or even acknowledge that such depth might feasibly exist in this sport that you know so little about. You may be thinking that your viewpoint only mirrors a fair percentage of the audience that turns up only for excitement but as a journalist I would have thought you were a little more concerned with understanding your subject matter. Ive yet to see any olympic wrestlers or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelts fight outside my pub on a Friday night for example.
"True, it lacks the grace, art and discipline of boxing - but you would have struggled to find anyone at the MEN Arena complaining about that."
This statement comes from someone predisposed to ignore any combat sport that doesn't exclusively revolve around punching, a little narrow minded don't you think? Perhaps some of the ignorant masses that watched this spectacle of violence have familiarised themselves with the more technical aspects of the sport and can enjoy the matches without baying for blood. The sport hasn't reached its current(and still rising) heights without containing real substance and talented athletes. There is certainly "artistry" to found watching Anderson Silva, BJ Penn or Georges St Pierre.
The Truth (17/11/2009 at 14:35)
jordy, Middleton (17/11/2009 at 15:41)
Omar Kahhyim (17/11/2009 at 17:14)
Would someone take the time to explain to this writer what Mixed Martial Arts is and what martial arts are in general, thanks.
Tony L (18/11/2009 at 01:46)
DJM (18/11/2009 at 09:38)
AngryMcNasty, Manchester (18/11/2009 at 14:33)
My opinion is that MMA is a fad that will pass and when the majority of its fans pass through puberty they will develop into boxing fans.
The UFC is marketed like WWF wrestling is and there fighting look like wrestlers, the ground and pound stuff is boring in the extreme and the striking is below the level I witness at local under 16 year old amateur show.
Steve B (18/11/2009 at 17:01)
I don't believe Tony L was attempting to engage in any sort of debate, just adding a simple comment so to cherry pick his remark was a little cheap. Then again, cheapness is the order of the day with some(far from all) boxing fans who cannot accept that a different combat sport has a certain level of popularity. I suppose in your mind, boxing is admired and dissected by pugilistic experts whilst MMA offers a diversion for monster truck fans. The sad thing is that the professional journalist in this article is halfway to agreeing with you.
Put simply, MMA is far too big to be considered a flash in the pan at this point. The UK is slightly behind the US in adopting the sport but it is heading in exactly the same direction and I have no doubt that we have only scratched the surface of the popularity it can potentially achieve.
I have nothing against boxing at all and I am certain that for a lot of fans who have no interest whatsoever in the wrestling or submissions of MMA will always gravitate towards the sport they are more familiar with. No one begrudges you that view, only you should understand that there are a lot of people who find MMA equally as compelling. Are some of them attracted the the promise of violence(as if boxing is totally free of such crowd members)? Initially, yes. Increasingly though, the general public are becoming more educated on the sport. For instance, the crowd repeatedly cheered Bisping's escapes from bad positions in his match against Kang. To characterise all fans as bloodthirsty teenagers though, is criminally misleading. People are attracted to the sport for many reasons. Converted boxing fans probably find that MMA is less bogged down by myriads of titles, corruption and promoters being unable to put together relevant fights for instance. People familiar with other martial arts are going to be interested to see the mix of techniques on display. Many find the unpredicatability of contrasting styles inherently interesting. From a technical viewpoint, there is a lot to admire about the best athletes in MMA and realistically speaking they constitute the best all round fighters in the world which is obviously an appealling prospect to witness.
Boxing's main advantage in popularity stems from cultural factors rather than an objective conclusion that it is somehow superior. Instinctively, people dislike what they see as a threat. As the older boxing crowd dies out and people are raised with MMA on a more even playing field a lot more people will become fans.
BLUE NOSE (18/11/2009 at 20:41)
I am however all for a full on stand up mma that mirrors the real fighting ability and not the easiest way to choke your opponent out........only my opinion!!
Hands of Stone, Southside (19/11/2009 at 00:19)
When fighters stand up and trade in a Muay thai stlye and/or tradiotionally box it is quality. The reality is sloppy punches and poor technique followed by rolling around on the floor: I understand there is a lot of technique and quality involved, but I have seen drunk women rolling around in pub carparks who do a more exciting job.