The grand old Hall of York

The venue is not spacious and the lights not particularly bright, yet York Hall remains the headquarters of British boxing.

What a place. It’s 87 years since it began staging bouts.

While big-time boxing continues to spread its tentacles into the consciousness of the masses – due in no small part to Anthony Joshua’s transition from a hero of the London 2012 Olympics to a professional world champion – the small hall nights provide a unique form of entertainment.

Joshua is the face of the sport in this country and with another 10 British world champions bathing in glory alongside him, there is a thickening sheen of glamour in most places you look.

It is less show business and still relatively spit-and-sawdust down at York Hall, though, and it is somewhere the vast majority of UK prospects pass through almost as a rite of passage.

Joshua fought his third professional bout there in November 2013; a two-round destruction of Hrvoje Kisicek. The great Larry Holmes was ringside that night.

The O2, where Joshua has skipped merrily up the world title mountain over the course of his past five fights, has its impressive scale and purpose-built tiered seating for around 15,000.

York Hall strikes you as a …

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