“Spygate” rocked English football throughout the month of May as it became clear that Southampton had sent a club intern on an espionage mission to watch Middlesbrough train ahead of their Championship play-off semi-final clash.

Southampton won the two-legged tie, thus booking their place in the final at Wembley, but were unceremoniously disqualified for spying before they had the chance to play beneath the arch.

It was a bitter pill for Saints fans to swallow but Garner, a regular in the stands at St. Mary’s, as well as a former member of the club’s academy, will provide the stadium its first action since Southampton beat Boro 2-1 on May 12.

The 28-year-old, The Ring’s No. 8-rated junior lightweight, will face Michael Magnesi in the main event of the first ever boxing show at St. Mary’s.

But has he sent any spies to the Italian’s camp?

“I don’t need it mate,” he laughs. “Actually I never watch any clips of my opponents, nothing, I just like to get in there and do my thing. I don’t need to spy on anyone, I’ve got 12 rounds to suss him out.”

No club in the history of English football has ever been disqualified from the play-offs for spying and many Southampton fans felt the club were hard done by for the punishment. When asked how the situation has affected the atmosphere in the city, Garner said: “It’s a bit mental, the whole situation.

“The club have now come out, opened up and apologized so the fans are all behind them again which is great. Most of us just want to get right behind them, move on and look forward to next season and absolutely smash it.

“It’s all behind us now, and this event gives people something else to focus on. It can give everyone in the city a gee up to get everyone back motivated and behind the club. Now it’s up to me to do my bit.”

Garner’s route to Southampton’s stadium has been a long and winding one. His promoter Frank Warren has been there through all of it, resolute in his belief that “The Piranha” is one of Britain’s best.

There was a time when it looked like he might throw it all away and waste the potential that Warren had seen from the start. In 2017, a local newspaper headline barked: “Garner was suspended after drug-fuelled car smash in Southampton.” Just 19 at the time, Garner was convicted of driving under the influence of cocaine but avoided jail. Now nearly a decade on, Garner is a different man.

“I did fall off the wagon years ago but looking back from then to now,” he says. “I’ve got two kids and a missus. I’ve bought my first house. It’s just crazy how much my life has changed,

“And if it wasn't for Frank sticking with me through the highs, through the lows … a lot of other promoters would have washed their hands of me back in the past. But he's always believed in me since I was young.

“He's always delivered so I can't thank him enough. And he promised me, all them years ago, he said he would get me this fight at the stadium and now it’s here after everything.

“Boxing has changed my life obviously for the better. I'm becoming a little local hero, local legend now. And that's what I want to be.

“Even after so many times I could have just quit. There were times when I thought that I don't want to do this any more. I could have quit and a lot of people in my position would have quit many years ago.

“But there is something in me where I have to finish this. I haven’t fulfilled what I want to fulfill. I'm not done yet and I'd be embarrassed if I quit before I accomplished all my dreams.”