IT COULD not realistically have gone any better at Oakwell on Saturday, in every way, as Callum Simpson won the British and Commonwealth titles in front of 7,000 fans.

That completed a ‘super Saturday’ for Barnsley sport with Becky Moody - the town’s only competitor at the Paris Olympics - winning a dressage bronze earlier in the day.

It is difficult to imagine two more different sporting environments than an equestrian event in the stunning surroundings of the Palace of Versailles, with hushed tones as horses dance on pristine sand, and a boxing match at a football stadium in Barnsley with t-shirt guns, sweary chants and the only dancing animal being a person dressed as Toby Tyke cavorting on a table.

But they were both historic and memorable events for the town, which experienced surely one of its best sporting days after normally relying heavily on the football club for any success.

A combination of clever staging at Oakwell by promoters BOXXER and a great turn-out from the Barnsley public, in terms of numbers and noise, made the fight a superb occasion.

With the ring positioned on the halfway line right in front of the full East Stand stand, and the rest of the ground in darkest after a sunny day turned into a chilly evening, it came through on television as a well-attended and atmospheric event.

For this reporter watching ringside, having only ever seen football games at Oakwell under the cover of the sparsely-populated West Stand, it was unlike anything witnessed at the ground before.

There were comments from experienced fight-goers about how good the crowd was while Simpson’s team said they had never seen a sporting event like it.

The last time there was a boxing match at Oakwell was during the Second World War and it felt as if eight decades of waiting to have someone from their town to support in this way led to the raucous environment.

The noise levels rose as Simpson walked out along the touchline, climbed into the ring and acknowledged the crowd, then again when he rocked Chelli during a superb first round. It then simmered for the rest of the contest and exploded again towards the end and when Simpson had his hand raised as champion.

It is a smart move for a boxer to associate himself with his local football club because you can tap into a readymade loyal fanbase of thousands of fans who are from the same place and love watching sport. But there is no cynicism in the way Simpson’s relationship with the club and fans has grown.

Although he may have only attended the odd game when younger, he is now an avid watcher of the team and friends with many of the players.

He loves his town and is a likeable person which generates support and goodwill along with his obvious physical talents.

Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke and the majority of his first team squad were in the front rows next to the ring, with some fans taking the chance to have photos and conversations with them.

It must have been eye-opening for them to experience being on the other side of the barriers and what it is like to support from the Oakwell terraces.

Surely they will have been inspired by Simpson and the passion he generated from the supporters - and will want to emulate that once their promotion challenge starts on Friday.

The atmosphere was similar to a football match at times.

The crowd adopted Barnsley FC songs to sing about Simpson, and chanted ‘Soft southern *******’ to the visiting fighter and ‘Chelli gets battered everywhere he goes’.

Before the Simpson fight, there was plenty to entertain the crowd.

American announcer Kody Mommaerts – known as Big Mo – was standing on a table revving up the crowd and, at one point, former world champion from Sheffield Johnny Nelson – now one of Sky’s main pundits – sat among the fans and led a chorus of ‘there’s only one Callum Simpson.’

The third-to-last bout was an extraordinary contest which Stevie McKenna eventually won against Joe Laws after both had been down in the first of four action-packed rounds in which there was very little defence amid non-stop action. That seemed to get the crowd engaged in the boxing before chief support Caroline Dubois - expected to win a world title soon - walked out to a big ovation then won on points.

Although there were reports of large queues for refreshments, this was an unprecedented trial run which hopefully can be improved upon if Simpson returns next summer with the full stadium sold out as hoped.