I remember when the fight was signed as clearly as the day. I just came back from the fight of my Stablemate Lee Purdy with Devon Alexander, being in his corner in Atlantic City. My mother graduated to become an assistant to the midwife and we were on the southern shore in London. We went to finish it and after passing one of the Thames bridges, I went to a drink and something to eat with my close family. The phone rang and it was my promoter, Eddie Hearn. Everyone looked when they wondered if it would be a fight or, worse, a call to say that it would not happen. I waited outside when they came in, and Eddie said that everything was signed and done. This has become a double holiday.

I knew Daniel Geale Summer Earlier, and our careers were parallel, except that he won the world championship title. He won half -two -red gold at the Games of the Nations Community in 2002, and I won slightly. You always watch your rivals and I always liked that I could beat him. I was glad that it was in Atlantic City because I wanted to buy back here, it was one thing against me after I lost to Sergio Martinez in 2011.

We started the camp at the venerable Tony Sims gym in Hainault. It was a fantastic camp, I practically didn’t run and worked a lot on the trampoline. Two weeks before the fight we went to Jersey City and made a few sprints. We found a good gym in Novel Jersey, where I saved Ossa Duran. In the area he was tranquil, not as manic as the nearby Novel York. It was me, tons [assistant coach] Marl Seltzer and my brother Lee. Everything went so well.

During the 14-week training camp I was sure for 13 weeks and six days. But on the day of the fight I don’t know why, I got a wave of doubt, it was terrible. I sat in a hotel room, thinking: “What’s going on?” Also in the locker room I tapped inside for some reason and it was really tender. I thought, “I don’t really want to be hit with a good shot.” When I went to the toilet, my team convinced MC, Michael Bufa, to say: “And up-to-date …”

There was a immense group of my friends at the entrance of the ring, so I heard a lot of cheer and chanting for me. I didn’t feel so far from home. In his entrance there was a guy playing Didgeridoo, which snatched me, made me really livid and aggressive, I think that it did more for me.

To be sincere, the opening round was a huge surprise. Our game plan was to fight for him, be clever, act on the front foot, but employ bright boxing and my speed. But Geale was disingenuous awkward, speedy on his legs and was able to get out of the range by a fraction, so I ended a bit. He was slippery on the legs, and after this round we decided to go hell to the skin, turn it into a fight. I had to be before him, letting the arrows go.

From that time to the sixth round I remember that I won. The adopted plan of the game worked and I returned to the whole reason to sacrifice this fight to Gary, my younger brother and other boxer who died of a car accident in 2006.

Then it came to the sixth round. Raniuk hurt me earlier. It was in Canada when I met Larry Sharpe in my 18 Pro Fight; I did not fall, but the shot remained with me throughout the fight. Against Geale, we both went to a chance when we were close, my body was exposed and he landed a fantastic left. My breath was taken immediately, and then it was simply excruciating pain. I was on the floor and you know how people say your life is flashing in your eyes? It was a bit and the longest nine and a half seconds of my life. I fought my breath and thought about my daughter Scarlett – my son Charlie was not born only in 2014 – my goals and ultimately my brother. I thought, “I can’t stop, it’s not fair, that’s not the point.” It was the most valuable half second in history. I got up and the judge asked if everything was all right. I tried to answer, but I couldn’t talk, and when the words finally appeared, they were a elevated, squealing, vitime voice. Then I was in pure survival mode for the rest of the round. Geale is a great finisher and he was shot from shots. It was a challenging period, but I arrived until the end of the round.

I returned to the corner and Tony said: “Are you okay?” And I apologized immediately. The rounds immediately after six were probably my best, seventh best of all. I was on the front foot, better boxing, increasing my range.

I put my eye and move my feet. Everything was approaching, but I had it in my head that I didn’t want to go down again, I knew I couldn’t afford it.

At the end of 11. Tony and I raised my hands and thought that I just had to survive. In the last bell I and Tony were over the moon. We knew that the fight was close and that the promoter of my opponent staged the series, but I am forcing the pace. Eddie Hearn got on the ring and said: “This is close, I don’t know how they will choose it here”, which made him question.

But I had an immediate feeling that I had done enough. My brother Lee saw Michael Buffer’s results card just before the announcement, and on the materials you can see how he runs to my family with a great, insolent smile, and then he started to panic in case he was wrong.

Then came the announcement that I won the Geale IBF title according to Split’s decision. These are the moments you dream about: Buffer announced the winner in the fight for the title of world champion in America. Perfect. I was very emotional, crying with my eyes, but they were not tears of joy. Part of me was gloomy because I made my life work to get the world title for my brother and I achieved it that night, so I thought: “What can I do for my brother now?”

I don’t think I’m physically at the top of this fight. I changed the way I trained and was as competent as always, but I fought with injuries, my elbows were really bad, very sore. But saying, I wouldn’t have the same experience a few years earlier.

Just before the First World War, there was a group of four black American heavyweight, which were unique. I have already written about the best of them, Jack Johnson and the competition, which he had in Plymouth in 1908, just five months before he became the first heavyweight champion Black World. I also told a story Langford himself and his competitions in Great Britain. The other two, Sam McVey and Joe Jeannette, also toured extensively in Europe and both fought in Great Britain, and also fought with British opponents in Paris, where both men had for some time. These four heavyweight were much better than any of the leading white weights of the era and everyone conveniently defeated Tommy Burns and Jess Willard, the masters against whom Johnson won and lost the title. Only Johnson received the title shot and used it fully.

McVey, Jeannette and Langford were largely ignored by the main promoters of that day, especially by Tex Rickard, and to get decent handbags, they had to resort to fight. Langford himself, for example, called 14 competitions with McVey and 15 against Jeannette. McVEY and Jeannette met five times, including two classic meetings in Paris in 1909, when Joe knocked out his rival in the 49th round before they both attracted the 30-runder. I am almost sure that for the first time the rounds were each of the three minutes, but I am not sure if the arrangements regarding the return. Either way, these were exploits of incredible strength, because each competition was extremely complex.

Joe Jeannette came to boxing at a behind schedule age. Born in Modern Jersey, he was 25, when he first entered a professional ring and it was quite unusual for this period, and most boxers fought for money from early teenagers. Both Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey, both hit the salary around 19. During the year Jeannette met, and they beat like Langford, as well as Johnson himself. In 1909 he was recognized as one of the best heavyweight in the world, and then he came to Europe for the first time. During his first route, from January to May 1909, he put on five British heavyweight in a total number of 12 rounds. Ben Taylor, Charlie Croxon and Jack Scales were defeated in Paris in competitions, which took place immediately before and after its classic 49-UND with McVey, and then, before returning to the States, he crossed the channel to take part in two competitions on the newly opened, and very brief breaks, hearing cross arena. This building, which still survived today, was located on Villiers Street, near the band and was full of night, when Jeannette boxed there, when he was exposed to two six runes against the soldiers of the Cook Royal Watchtower, the end guard and Harry Shearing from Walthamstov.

Jeannette entered the ring at 22:00 Edged and was supported by the great American medium weight, Willie Lewis, who won in the same place last night. Competitions were held a few months earlier Bn The uprising appeared, so I rely on the fact that sports life told me that Joe constantly beat Cook before the second of the soldier threw a towel during the second round, and that the shearing occurred before the performance before he was also pulled out by his corner in the fourth. The next day, Jeannette left Great Britain and sailed home. He returned in 1912 to fight both in Glasgow and Plymouth, beating Teenage Johnson and George Rodel, and in the last British competitions, in 1914, he detained Andrew Johnson in Liverpool, before he overtook Colin Bella in Premierland, Whitechapel. He died in 1958 at the age of 78, a relatively opulent man, unlike two Sams, Langford and McVey, both of which, unfortunately, died in poverty.

Michael Nunn (in RSF 11)
Davenport, IA (May 10, 1991)
I lost to Nunn because I lost the concentration of what I went there – to win [IBF 160lb] The title of World Champion – and tried to knock him out with one shot. [Trainer] Bill [Miller] He said: “We didn’t come here for this. Do what we did in a training camp. When I returned to my game plan, I started bringing him. After 10. I knew that he would disappear in one subsequent round.

Mike McCallum i (D PTS 12)
Atlantic City, NJ (December 13, 1991)
I won this fight. They just saved him for the next one with the draw. He knows who won. Mike was the best warrior I’ve ever fought. Before I fought him, I wasn’t as sweet as we fought. Everything he did made me think and work.

Iran Barkley (in RTD 9)
Las Vegas, NV (February 13, 1993)
Iran talked a lot, trying to intimidate me, but you can’t intimidate the intimidation or a bang. I am not a rascal in the sense of trying to abuse average people. I am a lifestyle and I love it. I sent him home, crying.

Tim Littles (in RSF 4)
Los Angeles, California (March 5, 1994)
I didn’t know it was blood [from a cut to the left eye]. I just thought I was sweating too much, and then I saw when I tried to wipe him. I always said that if I see red, it means you’re dead, so I took him. I am a shark and you know what a shark does when he sees blood. Littles was the number one claimant, he was also with Michigan, so I had to show him who was the best.

Evander Holyfield (in RSF 9)
Las Vegas, NV (October 4, 2003)
Holyfield was the best hefty weight of him, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. Mike was great, but you can’t become a great warrior if you give up and Mike gave up. Mike was a man when he was in shape and ready to leave, then the time came and you saw how his heart leaves him. When your heart leaves you, you’ll give up. Holyfield was very mentally and physically sturdy, but I broke him. Boxing was a great experience – I had a good time. As I said after the fight, “I told you that.”

Charles Williams (at KO 12)
Las Vegas, NV (July 29, 1994)
Williams was a tough guy. I had fun in this fight. My eye was rejected from him, rubbing my jheri juice on the face. Bill told me to stick to the game plan. I thought, “No, I’ll get it.” I saw a hole for this right hand and a bang! – It was his ass.

Vassily Jirov (in PTS 12)
Mashantucket, CT (April 26, 2003)
They called him a “tiger” and people thought he was going to evaporate me. Everyone was afraid of him, but I’m not afraid of anyone. I wouldn’t run away from anyone – I’ve never done it all my life. I wanted to go with him mano-a -mano. When I fight you, I don’t like you, even if you said something good about me. We don’t have it today. Everyone is frosty, everyone meets and goes to concerts together. I didn’t want it.

Samuel Peter (L PTS 12 – x2)
Los Angeles, California (September 2, 2006) and Hollywood, Florida (January 6, 2007)
I fought with many guys who looked sturdy, like Holyfield and Piotr, and then, when they call the bell, they can’t touch me. I said, “I’m going to throw this cluster ** ker!” I didn’t like him then and now. In the ring he was used to people running away from him – I went straight to him. The only time he hurt me, he was when he caught me to the back of the head and I was not going to inform him that I was wounded. I was peaceful and gathered, slipped and slid down and put it on him. I won these fights.