Boxing
Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, Tyson Fury: ranking of the 10 best British heavyweight of all time
Published
10 months agoon
For decades, British ponderous scales were known in the United States as “heavyweight horizontal”, this was their story in the fight for the title of world champion.
But this changed in the 1990s with the appearance of Lennox Lewis.
On Saturday, Daniel Dubois will try to become the third British who will be the undisputed ponderous world champion.
Ten boxers who were born in Great Britain had global heavyweight titles, while others bravely failed Global Glory.
– in the Usyk camp: behind the scenes with the heavyweight champion
– Dubois plans to free “chaos” to Usyk
Each list will create a debate – even about whether people on it should be classified as British.
ESPN breaks the 10 best British heavyweight of all time.
10. Daniel Dubois
Dubois became a champion after winning the IBF ephemeral title with winning in the eighth round over Filip Hrgovic, before he was promoted (without throwing a blow) to the full world champion, when Utyk gave up the belt last year. In the stunning first defense in September in September, Dubois four times four times on the way to win in round 5 sealed the former master Anthony Joshua on the way to victory in round 5.
27 -year -old Dubois bounced from two losses: against the English rival Joe Joyce (2020) and Utyk (2023). The British argue to get a reasonable knocking down when he challenged Usyk for the titles of WBA, IBF and WBO World, but was considered a low blow.
Then Usyk dropped Dubois in round 8 and knocked him out in the next round. Although Dubois had a great win on Joshua, time will tell if the former master has passed the best. Dubois needs another great win to raise on this list.
9. Tommy Farr
Welshman Farr, a former miner, made a brave effort against the great Joe Louis before 36 903 at the Yankee stadium in 1937.
Farr entered the fight, released as a no-hoper, but took the first distance master who did it in over 15 rounds-not the floor before losing a unanimous decision.
The Fresh York crowd even booed the result. Over 2 million people fought to listen to the fight on the radio in Great Britain. The following year, Farr lost his decisions for Max Baer and James J. Braddock.
8. Sir Henry Cooper
In 1963, 35,000 fans saw Muhammad Ali – then known as Cassius Clay – stopped Cooper on the cut on the previous floor at the Wembley stadium.
The left hook of Cooper – known as “Enry’s Ammer” – sent Ali to the canvas in round 4, but the Englishman was inclined to cuts, and was detained in the next round.
Three years later, Ali stopped Cooper again in cuts. It was the first world fight for the title of heavyweight in England for 58 years and was news on the first page, and the millions listened to him live on the radio shortly before the start of the World Championships in England in 1966. Ali’s exact blows left Cooper’s face covered with blood, and the fight was stopped in the sixth round.
7. Joe Bugner
The Bugner, who moved to Great Britain from Hungary in childhood, and later moved in Australia, twice in 1973 and 1975 he lost the distance to Muhammad Ali.
Bugner, who in 1975 underwent 15 rounds from Ali for the unquestioned title in Kuala Lumpur, defeated such as Jimmy Ellis, Jurgen Blin and Henry Cooper (controversial), but his rivals in Great Britain were more popular.
6. Frank Bruno
Bruno finally managed to win the title of world champion during the fourth attempt, but it’s best to remember the two losses of stopping the title of the world vs. Mike Tyson.
The Londonian was not in any way, but he gave Tyson a great fear in his first meeting for all three world titles in 1989. After returning after early knocking after only 12 seconds Bruno, and then torn out the heavyweight champion with his right hand and the left hook.
Tyson was at the top and found his rhythm in the fifth round to overwhelm Bruno with a wave of blows. Bruno was paralyzed with fear in the 1996 rematch and was destroyed in three rounds.
But Bruno won the exhausting meeting with Oliver McCall to win the WBC title about the point decisions in Wembley in 1995. Bruno lost to the best opposition, such as Tyson, James “Bonecrusher” Smith, Tim Witherspoon and Lennox Lewis.
5. David Haye
After unifying the world titles in the cruiser scale in the first defense in 2008, the Londonian overcame huge defects in height and weight to win the title of WBA World Heavywweight from Nikolai Valuev according to the decisions of the majority points in 2009.
It was Haye’s third fight as a ponderous weight when he defeated a seven-stone defect to defeat the Russian warrior. Haye (217 pounds) was too mobile and cleverly packed in a 7-meter, 316 pounds Valuev, which rose over 6-3 Haye.
Haye made two defense, after which she lost the title Vladimir Klitschko in points in the fight for the title of unification in 2011. Valuev is not considered one of the best heavyweight masters in history, and Haye did not shine when it mattered vs. Klitschko.
4. Anthony Joshua
The two -time moment of the world champion came when he left the canvas to knock out the former long -term world champion Vladimir Klitschko in round 11 before 90,000 at the Wembley stadium in 2017. Joshua was knocked out by Dubois seven years later, before 96,000 in the same place, and since then not Fear.
AJ ruled as a master in 2016–2019, and then from 2019 to 2021, and also provided the stunning KO of the former UFC Francis Ngannou champion in August 2024.
His knockout power made him one of the largest crowds in the history of British boxing.
Joshua won the titles of WBA, IBF and WBO, but he lost points twice for Usyk, as well as suffering a humiliating losing KO with Andy Ruiz in 2019. His record in the fighting titles is nine wins, four defeats.
35 -year -old Joshua is expected this year, and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, said that 2026 would be his last.
3. Tyson Fury
Fury was outclassed by Wladimir Klitschko with movement and boxing skills to win the titles of WBA, WBO and IBF in Germany in 2015, but he never defended belts because of problems with depression, drugs and alcohol.
Fury returned to boxing three years later and survived the knocking in rounds 9 and 12 to get a draw vs. WBC champion Deontay Wilder. In their rematch in 2020, Fury became the third British boxer (after Lennox Lewis and Bob Fitzsimmons), who won the world championship title on American land, when he detained Wilder in round 7 and became a two -time world champion.
When Fury met with the American again in 2021, he produced 11 rounds to confirm his status of heavyweight leading in the world.
After winning the detention on the English rivals of Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, Fury did not beat the best of his era twice when Usyk won two points last year.
Fury’s heritage will be defined by these failures, while the potentially the biggest fight in his career, compared to Joshua’s English rival, is threatened that it will not happen.
Fury, 37 years in August, suggested a return in April 2026. Fury has 5-2-1 in the fight for the title of world champion.
2. Bob Fitzsimmons
Fitzsimmons, who moved from Cornwall in England to Fresh Zealand at the age of 11, defeated James J. Corbett for the title of world champion at Carson City, Nevada, which was a shock and huge global news in 1897.
Fitzsimmons increased from being a champion of world medium weight, and Corbett was a heavyweight champion.
Corbett, who surpassed Fitzsimmons by 16 pounds, was detained by the Englishman in the 14th round. Then Fitzsimmons lost the title in the first defense of James J. Jeffries on Brooklyn in 1899, and the American knocked out Fitzsimmons in the 1902 rematch in San Francisco, when Fitzsimmons remained an hidden in the eighth round.
A year later, Fitzsimmons became the world champion in three importance when he won the world heavyweight title.
1. Lennox Lewis
Lewis, who left London at the age of 12 to live in Canada, became the undisputed champion in 1999, 100 years after the end of two -year rule of Fitzsimmon as a heavyweight king.
The three -time world champion defeated Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko. Lewis was denied the undisputed glory by a scandalous draw against Holyfield in 1999, but he achieved justice in a rematch later the same year with a unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
Lewis produced stunning winnings vs. Hasim Rahman, Frans Botha and faded Tyson. Lewis defeated the crisis to defeat Klitschko, and Avenged defeated with McCall and Rahman. After losing to McCall, Lewis hired coach McCall, Emanuel Steward, who forced him to operate his reach, boxing skills and stab more.
It was a strategy that served Lewis well when he accumulated a stunning record of 17 wins, 2 losses and a 1 draw in global fights for the title of heavyweight.
I just missed the cut:
Herbie Hive: two -time WBO world champion; He made Michael Bentt in 1994, but Riddick Bowe knocked him out in the 6th round of the first defense; In 1997 he won the WBO belt, stopping Tony Tucker in two rounds, before he was detained in two rounds by Vitali Klitschko in the third defense in 1999.
Danny Williams: Ko’d Mike Tyson in four rounds in July 2004, but then he was flattened by the WBC master Vitali Klitschko less than six months later.
Matt Skelton: He lost his unanimous decision vs. Ruslan Chagaev for the WBA secondary title in 2008.
Don Cockell: In 1955 he made a brave performance vs. Rocky Marciano in the penultimate defense of America. Marciano was lucky to escape with a series of fouls before he stopped Cockella in round 9.
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Canelo Alvarez will compete on the Las Vegas Card, and David Benavidez will headline Cinco De Mayo weekend
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Alvarez, 35, had elbow surgery last year and will miss the weekend in which he has always been the main character. He has wrestled on Cinco de Mayo weekend every year since 2015, except for 2018 and 2020.
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Alvarez last fought in September during Mexican Independence Weekend, losing a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford. It is expected to return in mid-September on the same holiday weekend.
His presence on Saturday drew attention because the co-main event will be a fight for the WBA 168-pound title. Munguia vs. Winner Resendiz will hold the belt in Alvarez’s division, which will make the outcome crucial to his next opponent’s options. No direct link has been confirmed, but a different name has been added to the current title image as a result.
If Resendiz wins, he becomes a huge high reward and manageable risk target should Saul return home. Resendiz is tough and has that unrelenting “Toro” style, but he’s technically the type of aggressive fighter that Saul has long timed and countered with ease.
The event will be broadcast on Prime Video and DAZN. Former promoter Oscar De La Hoya is also expected to be in attendance to support his fighters, including Ramirez and Oscar Duarte. In recent years, De La Hoya has publicly criticized Alvarez.
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David Benavidez’s hopes for a fight with Dmitry Bivol after Ramirez faces one major obstacle
Published
2 hours agoon
April 29, 2026
A major obstacle has been revealed that could derail plans for a potential fight between David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol.
After reigning supreme at super middleweight and lightweight heavyweight, reigning WBC 175-pound world champion Benavidez begins his toughest test yet with a monumental 25-pound jump to the cruiserweight division. on Saturday evening, a clash with unified champion Gilberto Ramirez.
However, even if he is successful against Ramirez, the “Mexican Monster” has vowed to return to lightweight heavyweight in pursuit of a chance to claim the undisputed crown against WBA, WBO and IBF titleholder Bivol.
Although there is a lot of interest in this fight, Eddie Hearn said Fighting the noise that Bivol has a “loose obligation” to take part in the trilogy with Artur Beterbiev.
“I think Benavidez-Bivol is a great fight, but we have some loose commitments with the Beterbiev III fight, which if called upon, we have to take.
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He crashed Bowe vs Holyfield and everything fell apart
Published
4 hours agoon
April 29, 2026
The man known as “Fan Man” became boxing’s strangest punch line – but the ending wasn’t witty at all.
As a teenager, watching what looked like an unidentified flying object hurtling towards the ring, causing instant chaos, was something that had never been seen before. Two feet dangling in the air before he plummeted downwards with what looked like a huge office fan strapped to his back, it was one of those moments that could only happen in a cubicle.
What followed wasn’t confusion – it was panic.
Judy Bowe, six months pregnant and sitting at ringside, heard the overhead lights crackling and thought it was gunshots. Debris fell from above as the scene around her crumbled. She fainted and was taken away in an ambulance, Reverend Jesse Jackson holding her hand while Riddick Bowe stood in the ring, not knowing whether to stay or leave.
For a moment, no one knew whether they were watching a fight or something much worse.
“It was a mess,” Bowe’s manager Rock Newman said later, and it barely scratched him. Fans rose to their feet, security moved in, and a man who had just fallen out of the sky was dragged into the crowd and beaten when his parachute broke free from the overhead lights.
HBO’s Jim Lampley called it a “disruption monster.” He wasn’t exaggerating.
Nobody saw him coming. Some people thought it was part of the show. Actress Demi Moore even leaned in and asked if it was planned. This did not happen.
It seemed like a joke to me at the time. There wasn’t one left.
James Miller circled Caesars Palace for a few minutes before walking straight into the biggest fight of the night. His legs got caught in the ropes, the canopy got tangled in the rigging, and within seconds, the heavyweight title rematch between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield turned into something no one in boxing had ever seen.
Referee Mills Lane stopped the action at 1:50 of the seventh. What should have been a routine round turned out to be a 21-minute delay as the judges tried to figure out what to do next.
“There is nothing in the regulations about this,” admitted the head of the Nevada state commission, Marc Ratner.
Finally the fighting resumed. Holyfield won by majority vote, avenging his loss and regaining the titles.
But the fight was no longer the whole story.
The man at the center of things walked away with a novel nickname – “Fan Man” – and took his place in boxing folklore. He joked that he was the only one who got knocked out that night. For a while, that was it – a clip, a replay, something weird to laugh about between rounds.
This wasn’t the end.
A few weeks later, Miller flew over an NFL playoff game and then traveled to England, where he broadcast a football game and even landed near Buckingham Palace before being imprisoned and deported. Each feat pushed the envelope a little further without really explaining why.
Things weren’t the same away from the cameras.
Health problems took away the flying that defined him. Coronary heart disease, surgeries and mounting medical bills forced him to close his business. The man who fell out of the sky in a world title fight has been grounded for good.
In September 2002, he drove into the Alaskan desert and disappeared.
A few months later, hunters found his body deep off the trail. He took his own life. He was 38 years venerable.
His girlfriend was pregnant at the time. Their son was born before he was found.
For most, “Fan Man” remains a clip – a strange interlude played between rounds of the heavyweight classic.
The fall wasn’t that story. What happened next was more significant.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
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