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 still talks like a central figure in the super middleweight division, even though he no longer holds all the belts after his loss to Terence Crawford.
“They have to fight each other and then I will choose the winner.” Canelo said to Mr. Verzace. “At some point we all have to earn what we deserve, right? And they have to earn it.”
The comments were notable because Canelo is no longer a world champion at 168, and yet he still speaks from a position that allows him to avoid the same path he believes others should follow.
Since his loss to Crawford last September and absence following elbow surgery, the 168-pound belts have spread to a up-to-date group of champions that includes Christian Mbilli, Hamzah Sheeraz, Osleys Iglesias and Jaime Munguia.
Despite the loss, Canelo will still have an immediate shot at winning the world title against Mbilli on September 12 in Riyad.
This has sparked criticism from some fans who believe the former undisputed champion should now prove himself against threatening rivals before being given another shot at the title.
Fighters such as Lester Martinez, Diego Pacheco and Bektemir Melikuziev were mentioned by fans as opponents that Canelo would normally have to face if he was treated as a standard fighter rather than boxing’s biggest commercial star.
Canelo also rejected the idea of closely studying up-to-date names entering the division.
“I never check it,” he said when asked about the current situation in the super middleweight division.
For many fans, this reaction only reinforced the feeling that Canelo still sees himself as a cut above the rest of the division, even though he no longer holds all the belts.
But the Mexican star remains the sport’s biggest financial draw, which allows him to move on differently than most fighters after defeat. While younger fighters continue to try to establish themselves, Canelo returns to another championship fight.

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Last updated: 24/05/2026 at 21:10
Boxing
Junto Nakatani’s forthright verdict on Naoya Inoue’s powers
Published
3 hours agoon
May 24, 2026
Head coach Rudy Hernandez clearly remembers the moment Junto Nakatani revealed the level of power he experienced from Naoya Inoue’s punches.
The two Japanese stars faced each other in the highly anticipated matchup earlier this month, which took place at the sold-out Tokyo Dome stadium in front of approximately 55,000 fans.
Many expected Inoue to retain his undisputed super bantamweight crown as the ponderous favorite, but his dominance in the early rounds came as a surprise to most.
At last, “The Monster” scored a clear unanimous decision victorybut was forced to overcome Nakatani’s attack between rounds seven and ten.
At this point, “Large Bang” suddenly came to life after his much more measured approach in the previous rounds, and he seemed to no longer respect his opponent’s power.
According to his coach, Hernandez, it was a key moment that, if it had come earlier, could have been enough to secure a points victory.
Anyway, the experienced trainer said Boxing Scene what Nakatani thought about Inoue’s strength, while believing that a potential rematch with Inoue would surely go their way, being so confident in Nakatani’s abilities that he promised to retire if he was proven wrong.
“If we don’t beat it [Inoue] in a rematch, I will never coach players again. I will retire. I’m leaving because I truly believe we’ll kick Inoue’s ass in the rematch.
“The moment Junto told me [Inoue] doesn’t hit as difficult, it was a game changer. I wish he had told me that in the second or third round.
Hernandez adds that regardless of their earlier head clash, Inoue’s uppercut in round 11 ultimately broke Nakatani’s orbital bone.
From there, the three-weight world champion put up an uphill battle to complete the full 12 rounds, let alone pull off a major upset.
Boxing
Tyson vs. Mayweather exhibition postponed to fall 2026 due to hand injury
Published
6 hours agoon
May 24, 2026
According to a statement issued Wednesday by BZA PR on behalf of the promotion, the planned exhibition of Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather has been postponed to the fall of 2026 after Tyson suffered a broken arm during training.
The release stated that Tyson, who was photographed in a cast, is recovering and intends to continue fighting once he heals. He described the delay as a brief postponement and said the date, location and broadcast plans for FIGHT SPORTS would be announced soon. According to information, the exhibition was last scheduled for May 30 under agreements with CSI Sports and FIGHT SPORTS.
The fight between the two former champions was first announced in September 2024, and was originally planned for spring 2026. In the following months, the fight took place on several proposed dates and locations without a confirmed broadcaster. The planned date for April 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo did not materialize. Veteran reporter Dan Rafael wrote in March that the fight “definitely won’t happen on that date,” citing a source familiar with the plans.
Tyson’s advisor, Amer Abdallah, said Boxing news in April that the contract remained valid and that he believed the fight would continue. Tyson himself admitted that he injured his hand earlier this year.
Tyson (59) last competed in November 2024, when he returned to the professional ring and lost by decision to Jake Paul. Mayweather, who retired with a professional record of 50-0, has not fought professionally since stopping Conor McGregor in 2017, although he still competes in exhibition fights. Mayweather has separately confirmed a June 27 fight against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Athens and is linked to a September rematch with Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
CSI Sports, founded by Richard and Craig Miele in 1997, owns the rights to a catalog of championship boxing events and operates the FIGHT SPORTS network. The company said it would debut the up-to-date technology in 2026, without providing further details.
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