The night before, the 27-year-old Edgehill ace had outpointed Mexican warrior Manuel Medina to claim the IBF World Featherweight title following a thrilling contest at Hull Arena on Saturday November 13 1999.

It marked the high point of a brilliant career that was tragically cut short two fights later in December 2000 when he suffered terrible injuries at the hands of South African Mbulelo Botile.

Ingle survived after undergoing life-saving surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain, but his weight ballooned from his 9st fighting weight and he remains slow and unsteady on his feet.

Now 37, the former "Yorkshire Hunter" cares little for boxing or the characters who populate the sport. But his face still lights up at the mention of that glorious night.

He told the Evening News: "About three months after I lost to Prince Naseem Hamed, I got the call asking if I wanted to fight Medina for the world title.

"He was a five-time world champion but I was on top of my game at the time, I was extremely fit, so I was confident I would win."

He added: "The atmosphere was electric that night. Hundreds of people came from Scarborough to support me. I could never fault the Scarborough public, it's because of them I won the British, the Commonwealth and the World titles – because of their support."

Ingle, with just one defeat in 11 years, took the fight to Medina, flooring him twice in the second round and once in the 10th, only to find himself on the canvas when the Mexican rallied in the 12th. Sky Sports recorded more than 2,000 punches in 36 minutes.

He said: "Watching the videos of his fights beforehand, I was confident I could get rid of him in seven to eight rounds, but he was such an athlete and just kept coming back at me.

"By the final round I was just relying on instinct but I never felt in danger of being stopped."

Ingle held on, taking the title on a unanimous decision. He beamed: "What I can remember are the words 'And NEW world champion' ringing around my ears. I just felt brilliant."

He was greeted by thousands of fans when he returned to Scarborough the next day and went on to defend his title against Junior Jones in a performance many rate as his best.

A unification rematch with Hamed was on the cards, but tragedy intervened.

Ingle, who hopes to write his autobiography, added: "The night I won the world title was the best night of my life, and the week that followed was the best week of my life. I just can't believe it was 10 years ago."