Euro champ goes to Euro Disney

No sooner had the 34-year-old returned to Lisburn he was packing his bags for a well earned break with partner Catherine and four year old daughter Katie.

"I had the trip arranged no matter what result was going to be," said Brian. "It's a chance to relax and wind down for a few days, but I won't be getting on any of those rides..they are too scary for me. I'd much rather step into the boxing ring than go on those."

Brian upset the odds on Saturday night when he destroyed Mads Larsen at the NRG Arena in Aarhus. "I certainly put a spanner in the works. The local papers over there said it was the matador against the bull and I was the bull. They had a world title bid lined up so that is in tatters now," added Brian. "I went into the fight in great shape. I had not been in the ring for a year and to be honest I did feel it early on. But once the bell went I stuck to the plan which was to try and knock him out."

Brian was determined not to let the fight go to the judges. "When you are away from home I feel you have to do something special. I have been on the wrong end of a decision before and I certainly did not want it to be another close call. The target was to try and stop him and thankfully that is the way it worked out.

"He is a tough fighter with a big punch and I really felt his power when he caught me a couple of times in the first two rounds. But I got on top and caught him with a couple of good shots and I could feel my chance was there."

Home favourite Larsen has always been a highly competent boxer and in front of a hostile home crowd he expected to claim the title but he was outclassed in the end. Magee had Larsen down twice in round five and twice again in round six.

"I really did not expect him to come out for the seventh round," said Brian. "I thought the ref would have ended it at the end of the sixth. So he had a bit of time to recover and I thought..oh no...here we go again. But I just went for it and I knew it was all over when he went down again. I could not believe it. It was an incredible feeling. I let the biggest yell out ever. It was a win or bust fight for both of us. There was so much on the line. That is why I rate this my best ever fight."

Brian earned 130,000 for his efforts, but his win opens the door for a world title bid perhaps before a defence of his new title. "The phone had been red hot ever since Saturday night and hopefully we can get a crack at the world title before the end of the year. I don't want to hang about. I want to get these fights on. I don't know where they will be - England, Belfast or America - but it will all depend on the purse and live TV."

Brian's first pro fight was back in 1999 when he defeated Dean Ashton in Manchester. He went on to win the IBO Inter-Continental Championship in 2001 and successfully defended it a record eight times before losing to Robin Reid in the Kings Hall in 2004.

In December 2008 Brian became British supermiddleweight champion but injury forced him to give it up and he was really at a crossroads. "When you start off as an amateur this is what you dream of. I have won three belts and now the icing on the cake would be the world title. This latest win has given me a good pro career, but I'm not finished just yet."