The 23-year-old Warringtonian was crowned world heavyweight hybrid boxing champion last October when he sensationally knocked out Chard-based Brendon Moore in 36 seconds to take the vacant crown on Torquay’s World Boxing League show.

Now, for his highly anticipated homecoming in Warrington Wolves’ den on Saturday, January 31, he is to face a man he has described as an ‘animal’, Welshman Dorian Darch – a fighter who got in the ring with global boxing stars Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois before switching to the bareknuckle arena.

“He moved over to bareknuckle boxing and fought for the world title in that. And now he’s coming for my world title in hybrid boxing,” said O’Rourke, a former pub and nightclub doorman in the town who is now on the security staff at Warrington Bus Station.

“He’s an animal. If he gets the chance to take my head off, he’s definitely going to do it.

“I believe he’s had 47 fights in total. He’s not scared to fight the best in the world and he has done.

“He’s stuck it right on the toes of Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois – just went for them – and nobody’s ever knocked him spark out properly. I’m going to be the first person to do it and I’ve promised him that.

“I asked him, live on social media, if he wanted anything for Christmas. I was in Waterstones and I said I might get you a nice book to read before I put you to sleep.

“He told me to get him The Gruffalo so I did. I’m going to hand it to him at the press conference.”

Amazingly, it will only be former Hook & Jab boxer O’Rourke’s second fight on the hybrid scene – a code described as the same as normal boxing except with smaller, MMA style, gloves.

His first, the world-title win on The English Riviera, was a case of O’Rourke seizing his opportunity – because he was only supposed to be on the undercard giving hybrid a go!

And despite his stunning win, he will be much better prepared all-round for his second professional contest against a 41-year-old who will be experiencing his first taste.

“I was contacted by my current promoter Lee Sibley, who had just started this new platform Risk It All Boxing,” explained O’Rourke.

“They were looking for a heavyweight boxer to fight on the show. I had no idea what hybrid boxing was at the time. I looked into it and I thought, why not, if they’re going to pay me a small sum to be on the undercard, not a big fight, I’d give it a go.

“The main event was my eventual opponent versus someone else at the time. And they had about nine pullouts. In the end they had nobody to fight the guy for the vacant world title and I just said, ‘yeah, I’ll do it’ and I ended up smashing him in 36 seconds. I couldn’t believe it.

Conor O’Rourke with his new belt after his stunning win in Torquay (Image: Freddie Fryer)

“It was crazy because anything that could happen before that fight, did happen.

“It was a five-and-a-half hour drive down to Torquay crammed into the back of a car like a tin of sardines. We got there late at night, and then I woke up and pretty much just rolled out of bed and into the ring.

“The thing about that fight, nothing was ever going to stop me from winning.

“The day before, my cornerman and main coach pulled out. So I had no cornerman, and I just put my mate in the corner.

“But there were a few things that happened.

“Two days before, we (O’Rourke and his girlfriend Yazz) were kicked out of emergency housing into a Travelodge. When I went to the fight, I left everything that I owned in my mate’s flat.

“I got my bloods taken for the fight and the needle stabbed my bicep. So I had internal bleeding in my arm and we had pictures of my arm ‘black’. It was horrible.

“I could only just extend my left arm two days before the fight – and that’s the one I knocked him out with.

“And on my right hand, I’d been biting my finger nails and I had an infection in my thumb nail. It infected and swelled up about twice the size. It wasn’t anything contagious, but it was crazy and I had antibiotics.

“Every time I fight there’s a bit of ‘What am I doing here?’ but deep down I was thinking that if all this that has happened hasn’t stopped me, then he wasn’t going to.

“He couldn’t have ever stopped me. I don’t think there’s a man alive who could have stopped me on that night because I just felt invincible.”

Conor O’Rourke standing over Brendon Moore after flooring him with a left hook (Image: Freddie Fryer)

Now in the process of moving into a new place, he feels there is progress outside of the ring as well as inside.

While having had his first experience of a hybrid fight, he is primed for his second one.

“It’s completely different. There’s so many little things that change a hybrid fight,” he said.

“When I got in there, I just thought it would feel different when I connected with a punch with the gloves being smaller.

“But really the distance was off – because there’s an extra two inches on a normal boxing glove, I just felt I was miles away from him and I had to get in close to him.

“I just jumped in right at the deep end I suppose, going straight for a world title on my first ever fight in hybrid boxing.

“And now I’m jumping in even further with Dorian Darch who’s just an absolute animal but I think I’m ready for it.”

O’Rourke said capacity in the 40/Twenty Lounge overlooking the stadium’s East Stand is around 500 with a mix of standing and seating tickets still available at the time of writing, though they have been selling well and highlighting a growing army of ‘Concrete’ fans.

“Fighting at The Halliwell Jones means more to me than any world title,” he said.

“I’ve grown up as a Warrington lad and seen the Wire games at The Halliwell Jones.

“But there’s not a whole rugby team in my corner, it’s just me in the ring, there’s nowhere to hide. You’re just toe-to-toe with someone, and doing that at The Halliwell Jones Stadium in front of my town is massive.

“To get the support that I’ve had from everyone in my hometown, including Luke Littler promoting my fight with a poster on his social media, is amazing.

“So many people are throwing their businesses at me, wanting to sponsor me. I can’t even list all my sponsors off the top of my head, there’s so many of them, and they’re all local.

“People just want to help me, for nothing, because there’s not much that comes out of Warrington and I feel like I’ve made a breakthrough and people are really jumping on it because they know how rare it is. Thank you to everyone.

“I think 90 per cent of the people there will be my fans. I don’t even know some of the people coming.

“Six months ago, I was nobody. Now, walking down the street people are asking me to sign things and if they can get pictures with their kids.

“It’s blew me away really, because I’ve reached somewhere with people.”

WATCH CONOR ‘CONCRETE’ O’ROURKE DECK BRENDON MOORE IN 36 SECONDS:

For the undercard of fights and the world-title contest at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, standing tickets are priced £40, while VIP seating is £65. Request direct to Conor O’Rourke or R2R Events Ltd on Facebook.

The event will also be streamed live @lounges.tv