Inside the foyer of the Midtown Renaissance Hotel, across the street from Madison Square Garden, stood Adam Booth, fur-lined parka jacket on, hands behind his back, shooting the breeze with a few British journalists.

The coach was in town on business, given that former middleweight world champion Andy Lee was in action a few days later on the undercard of Gennady Golovkin’s clash with Daniel Jacobs over the road at boxing's Mecca.

But once Booth had finished assessing Lee’s chances against KeAndrae Leatherwood, and indicating what may follow thereafter, he had someone else he wanted to discuss.

“This kid,” Booth said. “He might be the best I’ve ever had. He can do things I’ve never seen before.”

The kid in question was Josh Kelly, the Team GB Olympian who was scheduled to make his professional debut four weeks later. There were high hopes for Kelly as a pro, given his flashy hands-down style, and the link-up with Booth seemed like a perfect one.

At that point, Booth had lead both David Haye and Lee to world titles, while Ryan Burnett would follow later in 2017 by claiming the IBF bantamweight crown. Given the sort of talent he was used to in the gym, such heady praise of a professional debutant raised a few eyebrows.

“That style he has,” Booth said, momentarily dropping his hands and assuming a boxing stance. “Where he can avoid shots by a millimetre and counter, it’s special. He’s going all the way.”

Kelly would go on to win the first nine fights of his professional career, utilising that style honed for countless hours under Booth. Incidentally, it would be back at MSG where he would first come unstuck, drawing with Ray Robinson in his 10th fight on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s stunning defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019.

But he would unravel completely 20 months later when he challenged David Avanesyan for the European title in Wembley. After a bright start against the Armenian, Kelly would eventually be cut and dropped twice before the stoppage came in the sixth. It was Booth who threw in the towel.

They say you should never let a crisis go to waste, and Booth and Kelly were not prepared to let that happen. Back to the drawing board they went, with seven fights and seven wins across a slow but steady climb back to the top which culminated in Saturday night’s thrilling victory over Bakhram Murtazaliev.

It was impossible not to recall that conversation with Booth 106 months ago, where the experienced trainer made his prediction. Kelly is now the IBF junior middleweight king and the first ever world champion from Sunderland after one of the great wins by any challenger from these shores in history.

What makes it even more remarkable is that it came right at the very end of maybe the best January in the annals of British boxing. Only three weeks ago, Dalton Smith claimed the WBC junior welterweight title with a famous victory of his own against Subriel Matias, not far from where Booth stood that day in Midtown.

While in January we also got word that Tyson Fury will return this year, with his showdown against Arslanbek Makhmudov confirmed for April 11. Meanwhile, across the division, the month also brought with it a heartfelt and emotional video message from Anthony Joshua in what was his first public appearance since the tragic death of his two close friends Latz and Sina. He will fight again in their honour this year.

Things don’t look like they are slowing down in February either. On Wednesday evening in central London, Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder will come face to face for the first time since agreeing to fight at the O2 Arena a week before Fury’s comeback. Then, on Friday, Most Valuable Promotions will hold a press conference of their own to announce their first ever show on British soil. The card has not been confirmed but an undisputed junior featherweight clash between Ring Magazine champion Ellie Scotney and Mayelli Flores and/or a domestic barnburner between Caroline Dubois and Terri Harper could both feature. It looks certain that British junior bantamweight Emma Dolan will finally get her shot at IBF champion Irma Garcia on that bill, too.

And that is not to mention Saturday night when probably Britain’s best pound-for-pound fighter Nick Ball kicks off his 2026 with the fourth defence of his WBA featherweight title against Brandon Figueroa. It is incredible to think that just 11 weeks ago, Ball was one of only two male world champions from Britain, alongside Lewis Crocker. Since then, they have been joined at the summit by Fabio Wardley, Jazza Dickens, Smith and now Kelly.

February 17 will usher in the Year of the Horse in the Chinese calendar and, with the likes of Hamzah Sheeraz, Callum Smith, Moses Itauma and others in hot pursuit, 2026 could turn into a gallop for British boxing.