Docklands areas, mining areas in the Valleys. 'These were naturally hard men, often from poor areas, brought up the hard way. 'I looked around for a number of years for a natural breeding ground, realised no world champion had come out of Wales for decades, but I knew the talent must be there,' says Hearn today. Local promoter Kevin Hayde got the ball rolling, teaming up with Robinson's trainer David Gardiner with the slogan of 'Promoting the Future of Welsh Boxing' and bringing Hearn on board. We speak to the men right at the centre of the drama. The great and the good certainly flocked to Cardiff during that golden period as some truly astonishing stories unfolded. The flurry of activity prompted World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman to say: 'Rugby might be regarded as the number one sport in Wales, but so many quality champions have been produced there it has to rank among the top five boxing countries in the world, when you look at the size compared to much bigger nations.' The perfect ending to a perfect Welsh fairytale.' 'It starts with the Cinderella Man in Steve Robinson, a triumph against adversity which appealed to the wider public everywhere, and finishes with the Prince in Joe Calzaghe riding off into the sunset, having conquered everything and everybody. Legendary promoter Barry Hearn, for whom Cardiff became like a second home he was here so often, reflects upon those halcyon days with a beautiful metaphor.

Robinson had only just lost his own crown too. At one stage Wales, population a mere three million, boasted three world champions at the same time - Regan, Jones and Calzaghe. This was an astonishing little period when world title fights appeared to be held here every month or so.

In between we had other world champions in Robbie Regan and Barry Jones, Nicky Piper and Floyd Havard gallantly lost further title bids, while Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis slugged it out for the WBC heavyweight crown at Cardiff Arms Park.

It was a journey which started with Steve Robinson winning the world title after taking a fight at just 48 hours' notice, and culminated with Joe Calzaghe joining the pantheon of true boxing greats with a 46-0 unbeaten record. Momentarily, for a few wonderful years in the 1990s, Cardiff seemed to eclipse even Las Vegas as the most happening city on the planet when it came to the noble art. Way before Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua or any of these YouTubers like Jake Paul who for some reason attract millions to their fights, we had the golden era when Wales ruled the boxing world.

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