Frank Warren banged his fist on the table and boomed: "Boxing ain't broke, I keep telling you!"
With the adrenaline still pumping after Daniel Dubois' remarkable win over Fabio Wardley to claim the WBO heavyweight title, a clash which the 20,000 in attendance found hard to watch at times, the veteran promoter was right to make the point.
What played out was a gripping battle of Britain worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as any great heavyweight contest. It also reminded us why we can't leave this sport alone. There's nothing like it.
As the old notion goes: Nothing will fix boxing, but nothing can kill it, either. Dubois called both himself and Wardley "warriors" in the aftermath and even that doesn't feel like a strong enough label. If that was broken boxing, then the sport is doing OK.
"I think that was, for me, being involved in this business ... This is my 48th year, it was humbling to watch these two guys," Warren said. "It was just amazing, an amazing spectacle, the crowd, atmosphere, everything about it was just great."
Wardley had Psalm 144:1 embroidered on the shimmering blue robe he wore to the ring. "Praise be to the lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
Indeed, a battle was had.
The fight had all the chaos required of an instant classic and the twists of a Shakespearean play. Dubois was the underdog and was floored early, but came back to suffocate his rival and be crowned champion for the second time. He overcame the odds and the doubters to do it.
He relished every second.
"I was in there with a live dog, I loved it. [He's] a real fighter that came to win. A real crowd pleaser," Dubois said after the fight.
"Thanks, Fabio, for being an absolute warrior. Thank God. What a fight we had. I came through that test, off the back of a loss, I was a bit nervy to start with, a bit all over the place, but I pulled it together and got the victory."
Wardley had played on the fact that Dubois had been stopped three times before, saying he knew Dubois could "capitulate" if the fight was not going his way.
Well, it couldn't have played out more perfectly for Dubois to prove his rival and many others, wrong. Dropped in the opening seconds of the bout and Round 3, it looked for all money like an early finish was coming. But, after a couple of slaps in the face from trainer Don Charles, a clip of which quickly went viral, Dubois rallied, showing true grit, heart and, crucially, his boxing IQ to navigate the choppiest of heavyweight waters to clinch a famous stoppage.
He backed up behind the jab which steered him to victory over Anthony Joshua and imposed his weight and physicality on Wardley for a truly remarkable victory.
As for what's next? It's probably too early to say. The hype around this will simmer for some time. A rematch clause was confirmed, but whether it needs to happen straight away, or indeed at all, is another thing. They will both need time to recover ... Wardley more so. By the middle of the fight, he was spitting blood and there's an argument that the fight could have been stopped earlier, but his legs stayed strong, refusing to buckle despite the battering he took late on.
A warrior in every sense.
A second fight would be bigger and potentially better than what we witnessed this week, with more narrative and highlight clips to whet the appetite, should the time come. Dubois, now as a two-time champion, also has other options. He will be the hunted fighter in the division again.
Another all-British super fight against Moses Itauma may well be ordered by the WBO, given the 21-year-old rising star is their No. 1 contender.
What is not up for debate is Dubois' mentality or desire, as Charles said: "No human being on this planet can question this kid ever again.
"Certainly don't question him in front of me. What he showed tonight, he erased any doubt ... All the negative talk. It's almost like I'm glad the fight went that way, you know why? So he could demonstrate this 'quitting' narrative is not [true.]"
It was a beautiful monologue in defence of his charge, and it also came as a sobering reminder that any fighter who gets in the ring is truly a gladiator.