Our ringside reporter Simon Crawford reflects on a defining night of heavyweight boxing at Wembley Stadium as Anthony Joshua spectacularly ushered in a new era.
The long wait is finally over.
Since the heady days of Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis, British fight fans have been yearning for a heavyweight star they can throw their unequivocal support behind.
That moment has now arrived.
A post-war record crowd for a boxing match in the UK filled the national stadium to the rafters on Saturday night to see if Anthony Joshua could topple the once great Wladimir Klitschko.
And 90,000 fans departed having witnessed something very special indeed.
It was master versus apprentice with Klitschko having dominated the division for over a decade before his extraordinary defeat to the mercurial Tyson Fury 18 months ago.
Yet he was the one going into the fight without a title, while Joshua was the reigning IBF king despite just 18 fights in the paid ranks.
There were so many questions to be answered.
Was Klitschko finished? How much had the Fury defeat taken out of him? Had the fight come too soon for relative novice Joshua? How would he cope if he had to go into the championship rounds for the first time?
All of them were answered as these two warriors produced a scintillating contest that will live long in the memory.
Both hit the canvas as the fight ebbed and flowed. Klitschko drew on all that experience garnered from 69 fights to dominate his British foe in the middle rounds.
But Joshua dug deep and once he got his second wind the fight swayed back in his favour and it was all over when he landed a ferocious uppercut in the 11th that almost lifted the stunned Ukrainian off his feet.
It was incredible stuff and the perfect way to silence the doubters.
He showed guts, bravery and tenacity, no shortage of skill plus an abundance of heart and one thing we should all revel in is the fact he will only get better and better.
Certainly a champion inside the ring, Joshua is also a class act outside of it and that is why he is undoubtedly going to become a global superstar.
Very much in the Bruno mould, he is hugely likeable, humorous, articulate and generous with his time. He is also very humble and I don't see fame and fortune changing that, which will only endear him further to an already adoring public.
So what next for AJ?
Now holding the IBF, WBA and IBO and belts, he is very much the top dog in an ultra-competitive division.
WBC champion Deontay Wilder was ringside and no doubt fighting at Wembley is now top of his to-do list, while the WBO belt holder is New Zealander Joseph Parker.
But the fight everyone in Britain now wants to see is Joshua versus Fury.
Fury faces a drugs panel on May 8 and I hope they take a lenient view so we can get this fight on.
I'm no marketing man but the good guy against the bad guy... you could fill Wembley three times over.
Joshua proved that by fighting Klitschko he is happy to take risks and throw himself into the biggest challenges.
At just 27 he is just a baby in heavyweight terms and he could easily go on and emulate Klitschko by dominating for the next decade.
Let us also spare a thought for Joshua's vanquished foe.
Klitschko said after the fight he would be taking up the rematch clause in his contract.
I hope he doesn't.
The German media present felt it was his best display since beating Samuel Peter back in 2005, yet ultimately he still fell short.
Age has now obviously caught up with him and in a rematch the outcome would be the same, only next time Joshua would get the job done quicker and more ruthlessly.
A future hall of famer, Klitschko has nothing to prove and I hope the last memory he takes away from a boxing ring is the magnificent ovation he received from the Wembley crowd.
It would be a travesty if he started losing to fighters who were not fit to lace his gloves at one time in a futile search for what now seems like the impossible dream.
But the last word must go to Joshua.
All good things must come to an end and while it is sad that Klitschko's stellar career may have ended with two defeats, Joshua's victory is undoubtedly the dawning of a new era.
British boxing has arguably never been so strong with a plethora of world champions already in place and as many again on the verge.
Joshua will be the flagbearer and we have much to look forward to.
It certainly has been worth the wait.
