Daniel Dubois emphatically answered questions about his mental resilience by twice rising from the canvas to claim the WBO heavyweight title with an 11th-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley.
Knocked down after 10 seconds by the first punch Wardley landed in the maiden defence of his crown, panic spread across the face of Dubois, who was then dropped again in the third round in Manchester.
However, he weathered the early onslaught and started to land some punishing shots of his own, showing his boxing acumen and establishing control to leave the wilder Wardley's face bloodied and battered.
Wardley gamely hung on in a slugfest for the ages and despite remaining upright throughout, he was put out of his misery when the referee stepped in at the start of the penultimate round.
While Dubois (now 23-3, 22KOs) became a three-time world champion and halted Wardley's fairytale run from white-collar boxer to WBO titlist, he quietened his critics who have questioned his spirit.
