HORNDON-ON-THE-HILL’S John Wayne Hibbert is closing in on his dream British title shot after fighting through the pain barrier to defend his WBC International light-welterweight title.

Hibbert, 30, badly injured his hand in the first round of his match-up with Tyler Goodjohn at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.

But he gritted his teeth and put in a dominant performance against his 23-year-old opponent that wowed the viewers ringside and on Sky Sports.

Hibbert forced a nasty cut above Goodjohn’s eye in just the second round and knocked him down in the third.

But the Cambridgeshire fighter gamely carried on, standing up to some brutal punishment from Hibbert before the referee eventually stopped the fight in the eighth round.

“My left hand went in the first round,” said Hibbert. “I’m pretty sure, well 90 per cent sure, it’s not broken, but it still looks like a balloon now and I was in agony at the time.

“But I got through it because of my will to win. I was not going to stop hitting him. I always said I would break his heart and that’s what I did.

“It felt fantastic and I’ve had such a brilliant response. I had 68 friend requests on Facebook and 200 extra followers on Twitter straight after the fight. Sunday was so mental my phone ended up completely blocked.”

There had been a bit of spice in the build up to the fight, with Hibbert claiming Goodjohn had been disrespectful in comments leading up to their encounter.

But the pair embraced afterwards, with Hibbert praising his rival’s courage, but he says he always knew he was a level above him.

“I don’t want to disrespect him, but I didn’t feel like I ever came out of second gear in that fight,” he said. “I don’t know whether that was because of the shape I’m in and all the training I’ve done, but I just felt comfortable.

“We had worked on my speed and footwork and all that paid off because he didn’t know how to handle it.

“I’m heavy-handed and strong anyway and when you add speed to that it’s a dangerous combination.”

Hibbert now believes he will face the winner of the upcoming British title bout between holder Willie Limond and Chris Jenkins.

First he is likely to defend his WBC belt in April before an expected British title tilt in the summer.

“That will be a massive, massive fight in the summer hopefully,” said Hibbert who admitted to being on a bit of a comedown this week.

“It’s hard because you build yourself up so much for one night and then you come straight back down to reality the next day. It knocks you for six.”

Hibbert actually went back to his old job of laying flooring this week to keep him occupied – “I’ve done it for so long, it doesn’t feel like work, plus I get to eat all the bacon sandwiches and fry ups I want” – but he knows big decisions on his future are looming.

He has one more fight left under his contract with current promoters, the powerful Matchroom stable, but has other offers on the table.

And at 30 years of age with two young children – Lexi, five and Connor, two – to think of, Hibbert knows he has to make the most of what’s on offer.

“It’s not easy because I love boxing,” he said. “But for me now it’s a business. It’s about securing my kids’ futures and giving them a better life. That’s my number one priority and what drives me on every day in the gym.

“I’ve got one more fight with Matchroom, but this is a business. We’ve had a couple of other little offers that I have to look at. This is my full time job now so I have to take it seriously and do what is right for me and my family.”

Hibbert said his partner Kerry was a rock to him and thanked her for all her support as he has shot from small hall fighter to the brink of a British title shot.

“It’s hard for her,” he said. “It’s hard for anyone to live with a boxer and to see their moods. But she does and she looks after the kids while I’m preparing for my fights. I’m so thankful for everything she has done for me.”

Hibbert thanked his sponsors Benfleet Scrap, T&P Lead Roofing, Reed’s Butchers, Impulse Leisure, JV Building Supplies, Simon James IT and Dean Crumpton.