By the time Zhanat Zhakiyanov arrived in America to challenge Rau’shee Warren for the WBA bantamweight title, he had been professional for a decade and fought in 14 different countries.

The boxing nomad had won the WBA interim title in November 2015 with a 12-round split decision win over Yonfrez Parejo in Monte Carlo, Monaco. However, he injured his leg playing soccer the following April, which led to an extended spell on the sidelines.

After both sides came to an agreement, Zhakiyanov travelled to Manchester, England to begin training camp under the watchful eye of Ricky Hatton, co-trainer Michael Jackson, conditioning coach Blaine Younis and Philippe Fondu, in late November.

They flew direct from Manchester to America, before boarding another plane to Toledo and arrived less than a week before fight night. The event's presser was without incident and at the following day's weigh-in, both comfortably made the 118-pound bantamweight limit.

Warren weighed 116, while Zhakiyanov tipped the scales half-a-pound heavier.

"I was probably even lighter than I wanted," Zhakiyanov told The Ring. "Because of that, I needed to put on a little bit more weight. After the weigh in, we headed to an Italian restaurant to eat pasta."

Zhakiyanov slept well and woke the morning of their fight, limbering up in preparation for a big night ahead.

"I had breakfast, a 20-minute walk in the fresh air, then did some stretching," he explained. "The rest of the day, I was prepping myself mentally for what was coming."

He arrived at Huntington Center an hour-and-a-half before their fight, which was the chief support to Robert Easter Jr. defending his IBF lightweight title against Luis Cruz on Bounce TV.

"We were presented with a dressing room, we changed and taped our hands, everything was good," he recalled.

"When my entrance was announced, the curtains opened, I saw a really big arena. Up to that point, I had never really fought at such arenas. I was told there was approximately 11,000 people in attendance. I remember it being really loud, I hadn't experienced such an atmosphere before."

Hatton constructed a gameplan that called for Zhakiyanov to work his way into the fight, only for the relaxed approach to leave the challenger with an early hole to dig himself out of.

"I was probably overly calm," he said. "Warren was very fast, faster than we expected. I was throwing some probing punches; he was countering so fast that I was taking unnecessary punches. I took some quick punches that I didn't see and was knocked down as a result.

"Soon after the first knockdown, I suffered the second. He caught me through the gloves and caught the top of my head, and I fell down.

"After the first knockdown, I wasn't thinking much but vividly remember the thoughts that ran through my head after the second knockdown, as I'm getting up, it was 8 seconds, but it felt like my whole life went before my eyes. I told myself, 'Three long months away from home and is that how it will end, so quickly? I can't let this happen.' I willed myself back mentally, the fight resumed and I was able to survive the round.

"When I came to the corner, I remember thinking, 'Whatever will happen, will happen. Even if he ends in the next round, I will battle it out, no matter what.'"

After a disastrous opening round, Hatton gave his fighter instructions, 'Zhanat, you can't stand and box at distance with him, he's faster than you. If you keep boxing from distance, he will pick you apart. Take the fight to the inside, come close and press him.'"

Which is exactly what he did from that point onwards.

"We were evening the fight out, it was starting to go more in the direction we needed," he said. "I gained rhythm, started to fight aggressively and the tactics we planned initially started bringing the results.

"As soon as I started fighting my fight, the rest of the time up until the 12th round flew by.

"When the final bell rang to be honest, I had certain thoughts that I'm fighting in my opponent's hometown, and it is possible we won't get the decision. I remember being satisfied with how I fought, and I did everything I could."

When the scorecards were read out, the first judge scored the fight 115-111 for Warren but he was overruled by the other two officials who sided with Zhakiyanov 116-110 and 115-111.

"I can't really recall the exact emotions I had," he said. "You just need to feel it; you can't express it. Of course, I was overjoyed."

After completing the doping protocol, Zhakiyanov headed to his hotel where he ate.

"I remember I had many phone calls from Kazakhstan, so at a certain point, I had to turn the phone off because there were so many," he recalled.

The next day they flew back to Manchester where he spent two days enjoying some time with his team before returning home.

"I arrived in Astana, I was met by a group of my friends, there were some journalists that posed some questions," he said. "The main meeting happened the next day, it took place at one of Astana's media centers, I was answering questions about the fight.

"I had a special meeting with the mayor of Petropavl, even received a special gift from him. The special gift was a three-bedroom apartment."

Looking back, he holds Hatton, who he first met in Switzerland in 2013, in high regard.

"When I learned about [his passing], I was hit strongly by the news," he said. "Ricky was an extremely joyful, very positive person.

"I became the champion thanks to Ricky and his efforts as a promoter and trainer. He has put so much effort and resources into making me champion and it all resulted in this result in Toledo against Warren. It was the culmination of our work, and I am thankful to Ricky."