NICK Blackwell surmised that his dramatic win over John Ryder – the biggest of his life – epitomised his entire boxing career so far.

‘Bang Bang’ stepped into the grandeur of the O2 Arena a man on a mission, determined to make up for his two previous failures to clinch the British middleweight title against an opponent every bit as hungry for his own piece of history.

In the early stages, Trowbridge’s Blackwell was forced to grit his teeth and swim against the tide as he was put under constant pressure by his opponent’s uncompromising pressure.

The opening three rounds of the contest almost mirrored how ‘Bang Bang’ had headed straight into the lions’ den at the beginning on his professional career, stepping into the paid ranks with no amateur background behind him.

However, the 24-year-old was bloodied but far from beaten.

He soon began to shine on the biggest stage and when a punishing right hook rocked Ryder to his core with 37 seconds of the seventh round remaining, Blackwell’s watershed moment had arrived.

The Londoner’s guard dropped and ‘Bang Bang’ launched a decisive salvo, pushing Ryder back on to the ropes and forcing referee Howard Foster to jump in, call the stoppage, and turn Blackwell’s British dreams into reality.

“That fight summed up my career; getting beat in the first three or four rounds and everyone on his side thinking ‘you’ve got him’,” said the Trowbridge champion.

“I was doubting myself in the first two rounds. I went into that situation again where I was thinking ‘I’m going to lose’.

“And then I was listening to what Gary (Lockett, trainer) was saying to me and I was gradually getting him.

“And at the end, all the hard work I’ve put in, all the ups and downs I’ve had in my career, finally paid off when I caught him with that shot and now it’s time to start progressing.

“I enjoy the sport and I’ve just kept grafting and grafting and grafting.

“It shows that if you want something that bad, you can go out and get it.”

Coming out on top of the mental battle, particularly when Ryder was landing shot after shot in the embryonic rounds, was a vital part of Blackwell’s triumph.

Becoming the first man to stop ‘the Gorilla’ inside the scheduled distance will be a badge of honour the Trowbridge warrior plans to wear proudly.

“I kept talking to him. Mentally, I was getting to him. I took everything that he had and every time he’d catch me with a good shot, I let him know it didn’t hurt me at all,” said Blackwell, who even received a congratulatory post-fight tweet from Gennady Golovkin, the world’s top middleweight.

“I’ve beaten a good lad. People think he’s going to go on and win world titles and I’ve stopped him.

“There are more things I’ve got to learn. I’m only 24 and I’ve only had 20-odd fights.

“I can defend it or fight for other belts now.

“It just shows that hard work and dedication; it pays off.”