For a long time, London was the capital of British boxing.

Sheffield and Manchester each enjoyed their own periods of dominance as groups of popular fighters all emerged at the same time and, at the moment, Liverpool is a hotbed of talent.

Times change and and after a quiet few years, the Manchester scene is quickly gathering momentum once again.

The city has a vast new indoor arena and a number of young, exciting boxers have begun to break through into title contention.

On Friday night, 2024 Olympian, Pat Brown, made his long awaited debut and there are hopes that he can galvanise Manchester’s boxing fans in a way that nobody has managed to do since former WBA lightweight champion, Anthony Crolla.

As high profile as Brown’s journey promises to be, Matchroom may already have a future attraction on their books.

Crolla’s brother, William, has been scoring quick knockout after quick knockout. His famous surname certainly won’t hinder him but the 26 year-old super welterweight is doing an excellent job of forging his own path.

This weekend, Crolla, 8-0 (6 KOs) picked up a decision win over Emmanuel Zion, 6-4 (3 KOs) live on DAZN.

After spending much of his career boxing on the preliminary ‘Before the Bell’ section of Matchroom shows, Crolla has finally made his way onto the main card and is determined to not just stay there, but take things on much further.

“Yeah, I believe. I'm going to be the new star in Manchester,” Crolla told The Ring.

“I’ve thought it for ages and I think I'm backing it up in the ring. I've got everything, I do the tickets, I speak well, I fight well. I think it's only a matter of time.”

The best type of self promotion is a spectacular knockout and Crolla has already pieced together an eye-catching highlight reel. His eight professional fight have lasted a grand total of seventeen rounds and he has finished five of his last seven opponents inside the opening three minutes.

Crolla hasn’t spent much time in the ring but what evidence there is available suggests that he has every chance of becoming one of the city’s flag bearers.

“I believe it could be God given,” he said of his power.

“I hold the weight well as well. I'm not always trying to load up, even just the little scuffing shots are heavy handed.

Although most of Crolla's fights are ending quickly, he is sparring quality opposition and making sure that he is as ready as he can be when he faces opponents who are tough enough to stand up to his power and force him to show the other sides to his game like Zion.

Crolla isn’t oblivious to the fact that the opposition will get harder as he progresses but he also isn’t the type of character to shy away from a challenge.

“Next year, I believe I'll pick up my first domestic title,” he said.

“I look at the top ten as it is at the minute and who some would called the veterans - with respect to people like Sam Eggington - when I get there, they're not going to be there. It's time for the new crop of fighters to come through.”