RISE to the occasion.
That was the challenge laid out in front of Callum Simpson last Saturday night.
Could he? That was the big question and now we all know the answer.
In truth, we knew it within three minutes of the first round as Simpson had sent champion Zak Chelli reeling with a big right hand.
Set the tone. He had done.
Against a lesser champion that big punch would likely have been enough. Chelli looked in major trouble but he got through the round.
But the die had been cast. The pendulum had swung and was not coming back.
If the astonishing noise generated by the 7,000 cheering on Simpson at Oakwell had not rattled the champion then that punch had.
The second and third rounds were simply confidence re-builders for the Fulham man with Simpson firmly in charge and storming ahead on the scorecards.
Make a strong start. Another box ticked.
It took until the fifth for Chelli to finally start imposing himself on the menacing looking Simpson but it was not slowing Simpson down.
Chelli’s counter punching style allows him to pinch close rounds without expending too much energy.
That was never going to be enough on this night.
Teams may well come to Oakwell this season and get away with a 1-0, backfoot win, but it’s less likely when you are blessed with firepower.
How the watching Darrell Clarke would like the personification of Simpson’s sharpshooting.
Don’t let him back into it. No problem.
Into the eighth and Chelli’s jab finally gets going with regularity. It’s shrugged off, but taken on the chin, by the home man.
Championship rounds. Uncharted territory. Prove your fitness.
This win has been years in the making. Always credited for his relentless robustness, this is Simpson’s chance to prove it is not just talk.
Simpson had ten rounds in the bank twice but 11 and 12 is when it gets real tough. Arms get heavy, the breathing is harder, the glory is tantalisingly in sight.
Stay out of trouble. With everything stacked in his favour a collapse now would have been unthinkable. Perhaps even irretrievable.
Simpson had looked confident and relaxed all evening but he must be feeling the pressure now.
Backstage and earlier he had been smiling and joking but the switch was flicked for the ringwalk and is jammed into place.
The job is almost done. The jab is still firing. Chelli remains wary of Simpson’s power and does not have enough left in him to stop destiny being fulfilled.
Simpson finished how he started. On top of the fight. He is soon on top of the ropes and on top of the world... or at least Britain and the Commonwealth – for now.
The fifth British champion from Barnsley is crowned but Simpson is the first to do it on home soil.
Job done. Who’s next?
