“Boxing is such an enigma as a sport,” he added. “This is what really matters: in two hundred years from now, there will probably only be five fighters that people will remember. That’s what it’s all about.

“It’s not about having money or becoming rich. That they won’t stop mentioning your name until the planet’s disintegrated: that’s what this is really about.

“People are stating their names in the art of pugilist, fisticuff, combat, fighting. I like the word ‘fighting’.”