It was 38, a long time ago, when mighty underdog Lloyd Honeyghan won what was then called a “miracle victory”. After Honeyghan, whether he was an 8/1 underdog, a 9/1 underdog or a 10/1 dog, there was, literally, dancing on the streets of Britain, Donald Curry took the spotlight.

According to most experts, Curry was not only the welterweight king, but also the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport at the time. What’s more, Curry, a perfect 25-0, was called “the next Sugar Ray Leonard.” Instead, Honeyghan became British boxing’s biggest star and a fresh sensation, weighing in at 147 pounds.

The fight took place in Atlantic City, and although “Ragamuffin Man” Honeyghan was also unblemished at 27-0, the Jamaican-born Briton had never faced anyone as good and unique as the Texas Curry. Special? Curry fell just tiny of the keen and chilling Milton McCrory, and some say this two-round victory already cemented Curry’s greatness. Damn, Curry was so good, so talented; his statement about increasing weight to challenge middleweight ruler Marvelous Marvin Hagler was taken very seriously.

But now, against the seemingly caring Honeyghan, Curry was to be annihilated. And he fell in on the way.

Curry may have struggled to reach the welterweight limit, but nothing – nothing – could or can be taken away from the great challenge he presented to the challenger. In tiny, Honeyghan’s speedy, relentless, often street-fighting approach was something Curry’s superior boxing brain couldn’t calculate. It was, to the surprise of all boxing, a beating. And Curry was taking it.

After throwing in a few cigarette butts for good measure, Honeyghan had beaten and bloodied the champion, and Curry’s reputation meant nothing to Lloyd. Curry couldn’t get into his rhythm……No, he couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm. It was stunning. After six rounds, most of which were led by Honeyghan, Curry elected to remain on the stool; the fight completely knocked him out. The fresh King Honeyghan fell to the mat in pure elation and joy.

The shrewd Micky Duff, Honeyghan’s manager, knew he would soon be heading to the bookies to claim his fortune as Duff had placed a large bet on his guy to win.

Honeyghan, the fresh bad boy of the sport and one of the most entertaining players, caused the biggest away upset ever scored by a British player. After all these years, Honeyghan’s completely unexpected victory is still being celebrated.

When it comes to the biggest upset ever suffered by a British boxer, that distinction goes to Randy Turpin’s monstrous victory over Sugar Ray Robinson in London in 1951. But the greatest victory ever achieved by a Briton in America, well, that title remains today with Honeyghan WRTD6 Curry.

And it’s quite possible that nothing will ever beat it.

There is an article on the WBN (World Boxing News) website and some material on Facebook (Tony Holden, who previously promoted Tommy and considers him a friend) that argues that the overdue powerhouse Tommy Morrison, who won the WBO heavyweight title in 1993, should at least be on the Hall of Fame ballot.

In an article written by Phil Jay, he wonders aloud why Tommy was never eligible for office (and compares the fact that Morrison wasn’t on the ballot to the embarrassing absence of a certain Vinny Paz from the HOF).

That’s a good question. Is Tommy Morrison worthy of induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame?

When you consider Tommy’s skill set, his excitement value, and most importantly, his wins over quality opponents (after all, there have been many great and thrilling boxers in boxing, none of whom were HOF material simply because they could never defeat an elite opponent) – you can see that “The Prince” may be up to the task.

To consider:

Morrison had victories over George Foreman (a Hall of Fame star), Donovan “Razor” Ruddock, Carl Williams, Joe Hipp (a damn faint one), and the faded James Tillis and Pinklon Thomas.

Two of those victories are of course the standouts. Morrison beat “Gigantic George” to win the WBO heavyweight title in the process, and Tommy used a lot of movement, skill and cunning to stay one step ahead of Foreman most of the time, and when the huge shot landed, Morrison took it. Well, Tommy also took one of the most incredible heavyweight wars of the 90s, full of knockdowns and momentum swings. The huge win over Ruddock in 1995 really put Morrison on the points.

Or does?

To consider:

Tommy fell victim to one of the nastiest and most chilling knockouts of the 90s, when Ray Mercer unleashed a barrage of shots while Morrison was defenseless on the ropes. For some, Morrison’s bubble as a handsome puncher/part-time movie star (“Rocky V”) and his hype job had truly burst. Later in his career, Morrison was quickly eliminated by Michael Bentt, recovered from two knockdowns to draw Ross Puritty, and Tommy was stopped one-sidedly by Lennox Lewis. But that lumps all of Tommy’s losses together. It should be noted, of course, that Morrison, showing real strength of character, returned from his defeat to Mercer to fight the real pain of beating Joe Hipp. After Bentt and Puritty argued, Tommy returned to stop Ruddock.

Add it all up and yes, Tommy deserves a place in the Hall. Well, maybe. Certainly as much as a brutal guy like Ricky Hatton deserves. Some fans argue that the entry level to the HOF has fallen or been lowered over the years. Maybe so. But fighters like Tommy Morrison fought with pure courage and heart every time. And that’s saying something. At least that should be enough.

Rewind to 1994 and Lennox Lewis ended the drought that Britain had endured for so long when it came to having a world heavyweight champion. Lewis, who was born in London but moved to Canada at the age of 12, won a version of the crown, becoming the first British fighter to hold the world heavyweight title since the great Bob Fitzsimmons.

Although many people claimed Lewis was Canadian, Lennox maintained that he was a true Brit. And in 1993, after a victory over Tony Tucker, Lewis became the first Briton to win the world heavyweight title since the great Bob Fitzsimmons had won the real one in the previous century. Lewis had taken the version, the one that Riddick Bowe had thrown in the bin, and yet he had made history. Some people, not least the British fans who now “claimed” Lennox as one of their own, believed that the 6ft 5in, athletic puncher might be the best in the world at that weight. In time, that thinking would prove to be right. But first, there was a substantial bump in the road in the road in the form of Oliver McCall and his ace trainer, Emanuel Steward.

Making his third defense of the WBC belt he won by decision over Tony Tucker, Lewis faced a tough, already gray-haired Oliver McCall. Steward armed the “Atomic Bull” with a plain but quite brilliant game plan: throw a right hand to the chin as demanding as you can as soon as Lewis throws his, then drop your hands.

In the second round that night in London, everything worked like a treat. Lewis, with the much less wise but much louder Pepe Correa in his corner, correctly threw a right, then let his hands drop; just as Emanuel had noticed. McCall didn’t miss a beat, firing a right counter with his eyes closed and outshining Lewis in a flash. Lewis stumbled, then stumbled some more before the referee called for a stoppage. Lewis never saw what hit him, while McCall never saw what hit Lewis! But McCall “felt” the shot, as well as seeing the opening.

Lewis’ career took a drastic turn, but the good news outweighed the bad. Steward always said Lewis was the better, more naturally gifted fighter, and shortly after McCall’s disaster, Lewis was trained, educated, and honed by the genius Kronk. The rest is history.

On Saturday night we saw another British fighter suffer an even more ugly defeat in Anthony Joshua (who, we have to admit, isn’t as great as Lewis), so we’ll have to wait and see if AJ can bounce back. Lewis did, although he took significantly less punishment than Joshua in his loss to Daniel Dubois, and the loss to McCall was of course the first defeat for Lennox, who has only lost twice in his illustrious career. At one point, some people were comparing Joshua to Lewis. Never again.