It therefore took a while for me to adjust to its absence, as I headed to The Brewery in London for a black tie event on Thursday, where the British Lionhearts faced The Russian Boxing Team in their penultimate home fixture of the World Series of Boxing (WSB).

The formality of the crowd, who were greeted by a champagne reception at the venue, appeared a fitting touch, seemingly marking the fact that the regular season of the WSB is heading firmly into the business end.

Although the franchises are still jostling for position in the group tables, as they bid to progress to the final stages of the WSB and succeed the Cuba Domadores as champions, individual ambitions are also on the line with Rio 2016 Olympic qualification still possible for some boxers.

The Lionhearts Commonwealth Games gold medallist Joe Joyce is one boxer harbouring such ambition, boasting an unbeaten record in the super-heavyweight division in his five fights. Joyce chasing the solitary qualification berth in his division began the night needing a victory to overhaul Croatian Filiip Hrgovic’s advantage.

It was no surprise that his clash with Russia’s Babanin Maksim was one of the main topics of discussion as we made our way to our seats in preparation for the evening’s five fights and a three-course meal.

As is the way with any great event, or dinner for that matter, the most eagerly anticipated course would finish the evening.

With The Russian Boxing Team introduced to the sound of a heavy techno beat and the Lionhearts greeted by typically patriotic reaction, there was some amusement that the loudest voice during the flyweight fight, which began the proceedings, happened to be Spanish.

One of the Lionhearts’ overseas boxers Kelvin De La Nieve, was heavily roared on by what I can only imagine was his coach throughout the duration of his bout against Vasilii Vetkin, his enthusiasm heightened considerably when the Russian suffered an early cut, with the tournament seeing boxers compete without headguards.

Even to my untrained eye, it was evident that the Russian was coming off worse in the contest with blood dripping down his face for much of the fight. Although Vetkin unsurprisingly fell to a unanimous defeat under the judges scorecards, his dogged determination to last for the full five rounds certainly earned him my respect.

Having only ever witnessed boxing on television, the difference sitting ringside was vast, highlighted by both the second fight of the night in the lightweight division.

Watching live, the movement of Russian lightweight Adlan Abdurashidov proved to be an eye-opening experience. Moving his opponent around the ring throughout the bout, he exuded confidence, which was noticed by the audience around the venue.

Certainly those watching at home would not have been able to see the same experience of seeing the Russian’s speed, balance and poise across the arena.

Therefore I wonder whether the same confidence felt by the crowd at The Brewery would translate to viewers at home.

Additionally they would not have been able to experience the atmosphere of the night, including the lighting the darted across the arena and a boisterous crowd, most profoundly felt during the Lionhearts’ Scott Fitzgerald’s welterweight bout with Radzhab Butaev.

Fitzgerald was making his debut in the WSB against the unbeaten Russian, who was on the verge of Olympic qualification, and the British boxer although taking some heavy punches remained in the contest.

However the incredibly vocal support the Briton received from his family was one of the most noticeable aspects of the fight, and to be truthful, it would have been difficult not to pay attention to his supporters.

In their formal attire, they could well have come straight out of one of the 1920’s style parties described in The Great Gatsby written by Fitzgerald’s namesake. Equally atmosphere they created was befitting of the home crowd of a Premier League football team on derby day.

Despite their encouragement and a late flurry the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth gold medallist was unable to overcome Butaev, who moved to the verge of achieving qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics after recording six wins from his fights.

The split decision verdict in the Russian’s favour dampened the home mood as the Lionhearts’ fell behind on the night. I took some solace in moving into positive figures on my table’s prediction game, having predicted two fights correctly.

However, like the Lionhearts positive start my predictions tailed off, with Joshua Buatsi’s light heavyweight defeat consigning the Lionhearts to a loss on the night.

Although the team fell to defeat individual ambitions took centre stage with Joyce’s fight against Maksim. The first thing to note was the difference in size and stature of the boxers. Joyce both tall and muscular towered over his somewhat squat opponent.

Appearances proved to be deceiving as to the surprise of much of the crowd, myself included, the Russian moved well and his tight defence was able to combat Joyce’s huge reach throughout much of the contest. Despite a with a flurry of late blows from Joyce, however he was unable to prevent a split decision defeat, with The Russian Boxing Team earning a 4-1 win on the night.

Joyce’s late show, although proving unsuccessful displayed the importance of the next couple of weeks for boxers with ambitions for early Olympic qualification at stake.

Despite the obvious disappointment among the home crowd, it is fair to say that they left The Brewery satisfied by both the three-course meal on their plates and the five-course spectacle they had witnessed in the ring.