Seasoned: Fury absolutely no contest. So talented. Can switch to orthodox to southpaw for fun. Moves very well for a big man. Great fighter.

Ryan: Fury is unquestionably the best boxer of the three and Wilder has the most power. Joshua on the other hand is the most hyped. Hard to say. I reckon Fury beats the other two.

We are seeing that incident again that left Flanagan with a cut forehead. It is a nasty one, although completely unintentional. Both men spin around preparing for a big hook, but both man is closer than the other one expects and all they can do is meet in the middle, in a very painful-looking way.

Hooker, by the way, got off lucky and is unmarked. Flanagan less lucky.

Into the eighth and Flanagan tries a wild swinging left, which Hooker wisely ducks under.

This one could go either way. We still have four to go, Flanagan will be hoping that cut, with blood dripping close to his left eye doesn't prove critical.

Image source, Reuters

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport at the Manchester Arena

What does a cornerman hate more than a cut?

Two cuts.

Terry Flanagan’s head is leaking. Not that he cares. Still steams forward.

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We've just seen pictures of Tyson Fury, looking chilled out in his dressing room. At times it looked like he would never return, but here he is. So what's his message to Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua?

"They know the message - I'm back," he said. "I don't ever remember feeling any better than I do now.

"I feel sharper now, more power. I fell out of love with the game but now the love is thriving, we are back on fire for one another. I'm going to be the best Tyson Fury you have ever seen.

"There are no nerves at all. I feel like I have been a goldfish in a tank, trapped and now I am getting released back into the river where I belong. So just put me there and watch me swim."

Image source, Getty Images

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The Manchester crowd, sensing their man needs all the help he can get, notch up the volume. This is definitely a Flanagan round, but Hooker ends the round strongly. A minute for the Flanagan corner to get to work on that cut.

Flanagan, with blood streaming down the middle of his forehead, forces Hooker down to the canvas with a move more familiar with the WWE. No count, rightly, and no action against Flanagan, a bit luckily.

Flanagan has to go for it, before that cut gets any worse.

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Flanagan cut, it is a bad cut. Early in the seventh.

We heard earlier that Ricky Hatton had been impressed while watching Tyson Fury in sparring and that view is shared by one of his sparring partners - Tom Little - who said he has never worked with anyone as "unpredictable" in the ring as the self-styled 'Gypsy King'.

"I'm good at making people miss but I make him miss and then he hits me where I have moved to," Little told BBC Radio 5 live.

"He has the best timing I have ever seen. When you stand in front of him you soon find out how good he is. He's the real deal.

"Tyson understands big punchers get knocked out all the time. They get vulnerable as they are putting so much into that shot. Tyson doesn't load up until he knows he has someone. He's a safety-first fighter. Boxing is about winning and that's what he is good at doing.

"I hope we see a massive showdown and he can burst the Joshua hype train."

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport at the Manchester Arena

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Callum, Nick and Trisha Mernock are in from Liverpool.

I asked them where Fury will be at the end of 2019 and they mention one name confidently - Tony Bellew.

They don’t think Fury will get to Anthony Joshua in that time frame and cleverly, they point to the Liverpool v Manchester angle which could be used to market a Bellew v Fury dust up.

Bellew has mentioned it himself of course. He believes Fury isn’t a huge puncher and so would entertain the dust up.

Halfway gone in this WBO world super-lightweight title bout and Terry Flanagan has work to do. He is unbeaten in 33 professional fights, the longest unbeaten run in British boxing, but is having a hard night at the moment.

Hooker, once again, has some success when he opts to double up the jabs.

Chris Petrie: Fury, Joshua, Wilder...

Alex: Wilder is just swing and hope, Fury is prance around the ring jabbing, Joshua is an all rounder!

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport at the Manchester Arena

That fifth round was Hooker’s for me. Looks a bit more slippery suddenly and landed a good few glancing shots early on.

Keep an eye out for Flanagan’s head as he keeps burrowing it home when he misses. Could lead to a cut for either man...

Image source, Reuters

The corner team get to work on some swelling that is appearing under Flanagan's right eye, after a beautiful straight right from Hooker rocked the Mancunian's head back. That may well be at least two rounds in a row for the American.

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport at the Manchester Arena

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The BBC Radio 5 live commentary team of Mike Costello, David Price and Jamie Moore are so close to the ring that If Tyson Fury reaches one of his long levers out he’d touch them.

Many coaches say that being under the lights works a fighter harder due to the heat and that’s something Fury will get a taste of tonight.

As Price told 5 live this week, these intricacies will all require Fury to readjust. There’s nowhere to hide in that sweatbox. When you’re sat next to it you grasp just how vicious an environment it is.

We are live on 5 live from 22:30 BST.

Union City Blue: AJ is the most complete but Fury has ability to keep it at distance. A different type of opponent but I think AJ would work him out. Wilder 3rd.

Sam Clark: I don’t think Fury would get past Parker, Wilder, or Joshua. Fury still isn’t in shape to last a gruelling 12-round fight. He would struggle tonight against a decent genuine heavyweight, that’s why he’s fighting a cruiser.

Referee Terry O'Connor now lets Terry Flanagan know he is not too happy and that he should avoid any potential head contact. Once more and he could be in trouble.

Image source, Reuters

A clear round for Maurice Hooker that fourth, and Flanagan was also a bit lucky to avoid a warning after leading in with the head. Clumsy at best.

Image source, Reuters

Good doubling up from Maurice Hooker and Flanagan then eats another big right hand. Halfway into the fourth and the American is starting to look a bit more dangerous.

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport at the Manchester Arena

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I’ve been told before now that Britain’s O’Hara Davies gave Maurice Hooker a torrid time in sparring at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas five or so years ago.

Hooker keen on using his range here early on and not too interested in a tussle. He jabbed Terry Flanagan sweetly just moments ago and the Manchester fighter laughed through his gum shield as if to say ‘yep, got me’.

The Terry Flanagan- Maurice Hooker fight is yet to catch fire so far. A wild swinging right from Hooker shows an increasing confidence level from the American, but Flanagan spots it coming a long way off and can deflect the power.

Flanagan's best work was probably a left to the Hooker head just seconds after the American had landed with something similar himself. Hard to call.

Image source, Reuters