Terry Flanagan has had a hard time convincing just the British fight fraternity of his credentials – now he has the world’s attention.

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The Mancunian doesn’t seek the limelight and is often kept in the shade by his rivals amid a packed domestic lightweight division.

Olympic star Luke Campbell, Kevin Mitchell, Anthony Crolla and even Derry Matthews and Tommy Coyle are all perhaps more well-known names than the 26-year-old lefty. Yet Flanagan is the only one among that bunch who knows what it feels like to strap a world title belt around the waist.

And after the manner of his two-round demolition job on WBO mandatory challenger Diego Magdaleno, there are few doubts about his world-level pedigree.

Magdaleno had only lost once in 29 fights – to Puerto Rico’s superfeatherweight champion Roman Martinez – and had never been stopped before. On Saturday night he arrived having racked up a five-fight winning streak and full of confidence only to be hopelessly outgunned by Flanagan’s brutally accurate combinations. 

Indeed, perhaps the most impressive aspect of his victory was the variety of clinical power punches which did the damage. A sublime right-hook counter early in the second dropped Magdaleno for the first time.

With the American dazed, a picture-perfect left uppercut speared through his guard and sent him back into the ropes. Another three-punch flurry and he was on the deck again. It could have been stopped there, but Magdaleno showed great bravery to continue.

Flanagan knew he had him though, and another relentless assault brought a third knockdown and the stoppage. It was the perfect answer to those who said he was lucky to be in possession of his WBO strap.

Flanagan (now 29-0) had picked up the vacant title in July when opponent Jose Zepeda was forced to retire having dislocated his shoulder early in their bout.

But Flanagan, who was delighted to destroy Magdaleno in the same ring at the MEN Arena where he used to watch his idol Ricky Hatton, said: “I’m a humble guy, I’m pretty down to earth. People said I didn’t deserve to be world champion but I think I’ve proved it.”

Maybe now he can lay off the Americans and start looking closer to home for opponents. Matthews, with whom he shares a promoter, certainly seem a logical choice.

Meanwhile, on the same card in Manchester, yet another UK fighter got his hands on a world title as Liam Smith knocked out American John Thompson with a booming right hand in the seventh round. Smith, one of four brothers who are all professional boxers, becomes Britain’s sixth world title holder.

That number rises to eight if you count the WBA ‘regular’ titles held by super bantamweight Scott Quigg and bantamweight Jamie McDonnell, but given the WBA has ‘super’ champions above them, it’s hard to consider them legitimate title holders.

Still, though, these are exciting times in British boxing.