Sometimes I question why I love sport.
What is it that makes all of us spend so much time watching people we don't know kick balls and throw punches?
Well, on the 29th April 2017, all of my questions were answered in the space of one remarkable night at Wembley Stadium.
Expectation and excitement before a major sporting event can be dangerous feelings with few evenings living up to those lofty expectations. So often we are left disappointed (see Red Monday and Mayweather v Pacquaio) when an event is hyped up but on this spring evening, we were treated to one of the great spectacles in recent sporting history.
Over 80,000 fans were crammed into the National Stadium to see Anthony Joshua fight Wladimir Klitschko, and those in attendance the millions around the world were treated to a night they will never forget.
The majority expected Joshua to blow away a past it Klitschko, but the Ukrainian came into the fight looking fitter than ever, and he managed to give the young lion the toughest test of this career. Joshua had read the script early on and looked in complete charge when he put Klitschko on the seat of his pants in Round five but the legendary champion was not giving up yet.
All of a sudden, Joshua was down.
A thunderous right-hand put the great British hope on the canvas in round 6 and the dream looked dead. He had been found out. He couldn't take a shot and his defence wasn't good enough at this level.
It was over. Done.
Maybe not...
Somehow, Joshua stumbled to his feet to beat the count but he was exhausted and looked there for the taking.
The 2012 Olympic Gold medallist seemed to sleep walk through the next few rounds but somehow managed to regain his feet as the fight went late, and the rest is history. Joshua produced one of the most savage uppercuts in boxing history in round 11, and that was the beginning of the end for his experienced opponent.
Relive #JoshuaKlitschko TONIGHT 10PM ET/PT on SHOX.
You can make a case that the actual boxing performance from Anthony Joshua on the night was slightly naive. He left himself open in a way Tyson Fury never allowed when he fought Wladimir Klitschko, but that isn't relevant here.
Sport is about drama and entertainment, and that night in North London had both in spades. Rewind to November 2015 and although it was impossible not to respect the skill of Fury, it was hard to enjoy his drab points win over Klitschko,
Boxing fans old enough to remember the early 90s still revere Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn.
Not because that either were greatest boxers of all time but because of what they gave us in the ring. Joe Calzaghe, a far superior technical boxer to both Benn and Eubank, was unable to capture the wider public's attention and despite going unbeaten, simply isn't remembered in the same way as those two famous English fighters.
As Anthony Joshua celebrated in the ring that night at Wembley, everyone knew they would never forget the emotion of the evening.
When we sit down to watch sport, and especially boxing, we want pure human emotion. Clinical brilliance, see Floyd Mayweather, does of course have it's place but when all is said and done, we want to feel we are involved in what we are watching. We were involved that night.
Wladimir Klitschko was an unloved champion. A boring and mechanical fighter who worked his way through the weakest heavyweight era in history.
Not any more. In defeat, we saw who Wladimir Klitschko truly was, and it is remarkable to think that he will be remembered for the night he lost rather, than all those years of success. Applauded out of the ring in defeat, those in attendance knew they had seen something special, and even though he lost, Klitschko enhanced his legacy beyond all recognition.
Whatever else Anthony Joshua does in his career, and it might be a lot, people will always remember that night in April 2017. He may not even prove to be the great fighter we hope he can become, but rather than look to the future, sometimes sport is meant to be enjoyed in the present.
Beat that 2018.
