top 10 british heavyweights of all time

Bladder · Post by **Bladder** » 15 Apr 2006, 09:01

A few here have mentioned Joe Bygraves ..... what I want to know is whether he was British or not?

Did he fight for the british title or even have an eliminator?

I thought he was a bit like Roman greenburg today ........ based in Britain, but not eligible to fight for the British title ...... because he's not British.

Can anyone confirm this ..... (without bringing Henry Cooper into it) :P

lvlarc · Post by **lvlarc** » 15 Apr 2006, 09:34

tigerpomfret wrote:ivlark, So what your saying is lewis was so proud to be british he represented Canada in the olympics...how does that work?am i missing something?it doesn`t make any difference if he is GAY or not,but refusing to fight for britain says it all.

There's no reasoning with you guys.

Heres a few links to educate you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennox_Lewis

http://www.lennoxlewis.com/lennox/

If you look hard enough you will find out his nationality.

tigerpomfret · Post by **tigerpomfret** » 16 Apr 2006, 06:22

I'll give you a simple question Ivlarc. Lets see you try and doge this like the time Lewis tried to doge Hasim Rahman's big right hand.

Why did Lennox Lewis represent Canada in the olympics?

Don't give me a list of pointless links. Just give me a straight answer.

RazorKO · Post by **RazorKO** » 16 Apr 2006, 07:08

tigerpomfret wrote:I'll give you a simple question Ivlarc. Lets see you try and doge this like the time Lewis tried to doge Hasim Rahman's big right hand.

Why did Lennox Lewis represent Canada in the olympics?

Don't give me a list of pointless links. Just give me a straight answer.

Good post, Im also interested hear what people have to say regarding your question.

Although from the Rahman fight, I did laugh watching Lewis smile and mock Rahman than BANG. Ill tell you Lewis wasnt laughing any more

Arbachakov · Post by **Arbachakov** » 16 Apr 2006, 08:37

Lewis came up through the Canadian boxing establishment.That's why he was representing them in the olympics.

tigerpomfret · Post by **tigerpomfret** » 16 Apr 2006, 12:21

Badder,bygraves fought for the comomwelth(british empire )title and held it for a while,he was jamacan,so i presume had british citisrnship?,when he floored henr...oops sorry mentioning Sir henry

Mercman,
Cooper would have been the perfect opponant for dannyboy,cooper would have never been able to keep danny`s 2 fisted assult away,cooper would have been destroyed inside1-3 rounds,after that boring cooper would have sent the paying public asleep,like vast majority of his boring fights,never forget,cooper made sure he stayed away from big hitters,but still was ko`d by jouneymen.

tigerpomfret · Post by **tigerpomfret** » 16 Apr 2006, 12:47

Get it right,dunn was a giant up to dannyboy,but boy ,danny lifted the bag of bones right of his feet with a k o ,in his prime,the only reason danny dissapered was because of so many injuries,did you know George Foreman wanted danny as a sparring patner before facing frasier in jamaca,danny was offered£80,000 to fight on the undercard of that fight,but for some reason ,possibly injuries nothing came of it( taken from cental libary microfilm of local newspaper `s ..circ... early 70`s)

lvlarc · Post by **lvlarc** » 16 Apr 2006, 14:07

Arbachakov wrote:Lewis came up through the Canadian boxing establishment.That's why he was representing them in the olympics.

That's bit of an easy question isnt it tiger? C'mon I'm sure you can do better than that.

tigerpomfret · Post by **tigerpomfret** » 16 Apr 2006, 17:10

Mercman, of course danny wasn`t good enough,i know that,but blimey,he always put on a show for the crowd,but on his day he would outslug plenty,cooper would have been the perfect target,slightly taller,could`nt take a punch,not really even a cruiserweight,would have been cut wide open by danny`s glancing blows as well.
Danny was never fully fit after his clubbing defeat of jack bodell, add to that bad managment,who the hell would put danny,not big himself,against the giant powerhouse like jack o`hallerhan,wellrated craz matchup,he should have been took across america fighting bums,and would have had a massive irish american following,funny thing,i never knew up to a couple of years ago he was jack bodells sparring partner,then i understood why danny came in to the ring laughing his head of,so full of confidence,that night,i bet he knew full well he could really hurt bodell.
You seen danny`s last few fights,fat slow,no 2 fisted action,still big hitting,but gone,that`s why dunn got his revenge,.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 16 Apr 2006, 18:32

tiger,

why do u rate don cockell # 2 all time?

Nemesis · Post by **Nemesis** » 16 Apr 2006, 18:43

RazorKO wrote:
Good post, Im also interested hear what people have to say regarding your question.

Although from the Rahman fight, I did laugh watching Lewis smile and mock Rahman than BANG. Ill tell you Lewis wasnt laughing any more

Lennox Lewis is the greatest Britsih Heavyweight of all time.

No other British Heavyweight comes near him.

bollox · Post by **bollox** » 16 Apr 2006, 20:08

Can someone please change the thread title to "The most hated British HW and why'

Wishing Lewis wasn't the best British HW by a mile won't make it mysteriously come true

Migz · Post by **Migz** » 17 Apr 2006, 04:01

RazorKO wrote:1. Joe Bugner
2. Henry Cooper
3. Frank Bruno
4. Bruce Woodcock
5. Tommy Farr
6. Herie Hide
7. Gary Mason
8. Don Cockell
9. Alex Stewart
10. Bygraves and Joe Erskine

Correct me if i am wrong please but isnt Joe Bugner Australian!!!

bollox · Post by **bollox** » 17 Apr 2006, 04:44

migz wrote:
RazorKO wrote:1. Joe Bugner
2. Henry Cooper
3. Frank Bruno
4. Bruce Woodcock
5. Tommy Farr
6. Herie Hide
7. Gary Mason
8. Don Cockell
9. Alex Stewart
10. Bygraves and Joe Erskine
Correct me if i am wrong please but isnt Joe Bugner Australian!!!

Joe was born in Hungary before migrating to England. Once he could no longer stand the years of abuse for having the cheek to beat old 'Enery Cooper he came down here

p.s. I'm mildly surprised he didn't try to qualify for the discus in the recent Commonwealth games

DrDuke · Post by **DrDuke** » 18 Aug 2018, 12:48

Heavyweight Britain has been in the US shadow for a long time, just like any other country though. It has become a major player at the end of the previous century, so some of its biggest players on the World scene has retired relatively not so long ago or they even are active now and will probably be active for quite a while. For the moment I see it this way:

1. Lennox Lewis - a truly legendary boxer, I even rate him as the best British p4p boxer ever as well as the best heavyweight ever and I don't think, that any explanations are needed for that.
2. Anthony Joshua - he has made really big accomplishments. For the moment he has the best opposition in the division and 3 major belts. An ATG Klitschko is among the scalps.
3. Tyson Fury - for the moment his biggest achievement is not just winning Klitschko, but dethroning him after the long reign as a unified and lineal champion. And he outboxed Klitschko, while Joshua wasn't able to do the same even later. That's his arguably single really big win, but almost nobody else had ever done something similar. He's talented, especially for a fighter of his size and physique.
4. Frank Bruno - was WBC champion dethroned McCall, was a top competitor of the 80s and the 90s with a solid opposition.
5. Bob Fitzsimmons - was a World champion dethroned Corbett, was a major player in his times. Probably his legacy is bigger in p4p sense, but his heavyweight career in particular was good. Not to forget he was the first British HW champ.
6. Joe Bugner - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles along with Australian one due to dual citizenship. He was around the top in the 70s. He was a skillful boxer and pretty elusive, I'd say, that style wasn't too common for European fighters. Cooper win was controversial and not so spectacular, but still a win, so he is slightly over Cooper. Furthermore he was better, than Cooper, in Ali fights and he even made look both Ali and Frazier not very spectacular in their fights. Actually his fights weren't spectacular overall, but that was a kinda accomplishment, as he was able to drag opponents in his style of fight and he sometimes was successful there against a notable opposition.
7. Henry Cooper - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles, he had some decent scalps. A top fighter of his times. Scored a legendary knockdown in Ali bout.
8. Tommy Farr - his biggest accoplishments were British and Commonwealth titles, but he was a good boxer with some good wins including a one over HFer Baer. He also went the distance vs Louis and was able to trouble him several times.
9. David Haye - was WBA champ. A top competitor of the late 2000s - early 2010s. He won the championship from a one of the worst HW champs and defended against the other one, but it is what it is. His career could have been better, but still he was able to show, that he was a skillful boxer, talented and slick.
10. Joe Erskine - was British and Commonwealth champ, held some notable wins including the ones in his prolonged rivalry vs Cooper.

scartissue · Post by **scartissue** » 18 Aug 2018, 21:30

How does Dick Richardson and Billy Walker fit into this mix?

Sidney Carton · Post by **Sidney Carton** » 18 Aug 2018, 22:32

Who had the best glass chin---

Lennox Lewis or Fainting Phil Scott?

Heartbreak_Kid79 · Post by **Heartbreak_Kid79** » 13 Nov 2018, 12:37

DrDuke wrote: ↑18 Aug 2018, 12:48 Heavyweight Britain has been in the US shadow for a long time, just like any other country though. It has become a major player at the end of the previous century, so some of its biggest players on the World scene has retired relatively not so long ago or they even are active now and will probably be active for quite a while. For the moment I see it this way:

1. Lennox Lewis - a truly legendary boxer, I even rate him as the best British p4p boxer ever as well as the best heavyweight ever and I don't think, that any explanations are needed for that.
2. Anthony Joshua - he has made really big accomplishments. For the moment he has the best opposition in the division and 3 major belts. An ATG Klitschko is among the scalps.
3. Tyson Fury - for the moment his biggest achievement is not just winning Klitschko, but dethroning him after the long reign as a unified and lineal champion. And he outboxed Klitschko, while Joshua wasn't able to do the same even later. That's his arguably single really big win, but almost nobody else had ever done something similar. He's talented, especially for a fighter of his size and physique.
4. Frank Bruno - was WBC champion dethroned McCall, was a top competitor of the 80s and the 90s with a solid opposition.
5. Bob Fitzsimmons - was a World champion dethroned Corbett, was a major player in his times. Probably his legacy is bigger in p4p sense, but his heavyweight career in particular was good. Not to forget he was the first British HW champ.
6. Joe Bugner - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles along with Australian one due to dual citizenship. He was around the top in the 70s. He was a skillful boxer and pretty elusive, I'd say, that style wasn't too common for European fighters. Cooper win was controversial and not so spectacular, but still a win, so he is slightly over Cooper. Furthermore he was better, than Cooper, in Ali fights and he even made look both Ali and Frazier not very spectacular in their fights. Actually his fights weren't spectacular overall, but that was a kinda accomplishment, as he was able to drag opponents in his style of fight and he sometimes was successful there against a notable opposition.
7. Henry Cooper - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles, he had some decent scalps. A top fighter of his times. Scored a legendary knockdown in Ali bout.
8. Tommy Farr - his biggest accoplishments were British and Commonwealth titles, but he was a good boxer with some good wins including a one over HFer Baer. He also went the distance vs Louis and was able to trouble him several times.
9. David Haye - was WBA champ. A top competitor of the late 2000s - early 2010s. He won the championship from a one of the worst HW champs and defended against the other one, but it is what it is. His career could have been better, but still he was able to show, that he was a skillful boxer, talented and slick.
10. Joe Erskine - was British and Commonwealth champ, held some notable wins including the ones in his prolonged rivalry vs Cooper.

This list is very sensible. Maybe rank Fitzsimmons over Bruno.... but that's about it.
Lewis should be untouchable as #1- he was born in London and dumped his Canadian heritage for Britain when he turned pro. As someone who should rank in a top 10 all time HW list- there is no question he should be top.
Joshua and Fury, despite being active.... have already done enough to score very highly on the list.
As popular as the likes of Cooper and Bruno are.... their achievements have already been eclipsed by AJ & Fury.
Even Haye probably merits scraping in- how many HW world champions have we had? not many.... and at least he managed a couple of defences too.... something Frank didn't manage to do (though Tyson would have likely destroyed Haye too)>

Ambling Alp II · Post by **Ambling Alp II** » 13 Nov 2018, 16:47

If you count Lewis as British, then he is easily number number 1. (Not p4p though.)

Still waiting for Joshua and Fury to accomplish something. Too early to consider them yet. Fury has a big chance against Wilder which could help his case a lot.

Bugner is probably #2 for now. Bruno #3. Counting Fitz as British is pushing it.

cfang · Post by **cfang** » 13 Nov 2018, 16:51

Great list this. I'd prob put hide in instead of Erskine. He overreached with Bowe at the wrong time.

Heartbreak_Kid79 wrote: ↑13 Nov 2018, 12:37
DrDuke wrote: ↑18 Aug 2018, 12:48 Heavyweight Britain has been in the US shadow for a long time, just like any other country though. It has become a major player at the end of the previous century, so some of its biggest players on the World scene has retired relatively not so long ago or they even are active now and will probably be active for quite a while. For the moment I see it this way:

1. Lennox Lewis - a truly legendary boxer, I even rate him as the best British p4p boxer ever as well as the best heavyweight ever and I don't think, that any explanations are needed for that.
2. Anthony Joshua - he has made really big accomplishments. For the moment he has the best opposition in the division and 3 major belts. An ATG Klitschko is among the scalps.
3. Tyson Fury - for the moment his biggest achievement is not just winning Klitschko, but dethroning him after the long reign as a unified and lineal champion. And he outboxed Klitschko, while Joshua wasn't able to do the same even later. That's his arguably single really big win, but almost nobody else had ever done something similar. He's talented, especially for a fighter of his size and physique.
4. Frank Bruno - was WBC champion dethroned McCall, was a top competitor of the 80s and the 90s with a solid opposition.
5. Bob Fitzsimmons - was a World champion dethroned Corbett, was a major player in his times. Probably his legacy is bigger in p4p sense, but his heavyweight career in particular was good. Not to forget he was the first British HW champ.
6. Joe Bugner - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles along with Australian one due to dual citizenship. He was around the top in the 70s. He was a skillful boxer and pretty elusive, I'd say, that style wasn't too common for European fighters. Cooper win was controversial and not so spectacular, but still a win, so he is slightly over Cooper. Furthermore he was better, than Cooper, in Ali fights and he even made look both Ali and Frazier not very spectacular in their fights. Actually his fights weren't spectacular overall, but that was a kinda accomplishment, as he was able to drag opponents in his style of fight and he sometimes was successful there against a notable opposition.
7. Henry Cooper - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles, he had some decent scalps. A top fighter of his times. Scored a legendary knockdown in Ali bout.
8. Tommy Farr - his biggest accoplishments were British and Commonwealth titles, but he was a good boxer with some good wins including a one over HFer Baer. He also went the distance vs Louis and was able to trouble him several times.
9. David Haye - was WBA champ. A top competitor of the late 2000s - early 2010s. He won the championship from a one of the worst HW champs and defended against the other one, but it is what it is. His career could have been better, but still he was able to show, that he was a skillful boxer, talented and slick.
10. Joe Erskine - was British and Commonwealth champ, held some notable wins including the ones in his prolonged rivalry vs Cooper.
This list is very sensible. Maybe rank Fitzsimmons over Bruno.... but that's about it.
Lewis should be untouchable as #1- he was born in London and dumped his Canadian heritage for Britain when he turned pro. As someone who should rank in a top 10 all time HW list- there is no question he should be top.
Joshua and Fury, despite being active.... have already done enough to score very highly on the list.
As popular as the likes of Cooper and Bruno are.... their achievements have already been eclipsed by AJ & Fury.
Even Haye probably merits scraping in- how many HW world champions have we had? not many.... and at least he managed a couple of defences too.... something Frank didn't manage to do (though Tyson would have likely destroyed Haye too)>

Ambling Alp II · Post by **Ambling Alp II** » 13 Nov 2018, 16:59

Bruno was far from perfect, but he least he had some decent scalps. So far, Fury and Joshua biggest win is over a guy in his 40s.

dr_devious · Post by **dr_devious** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:35

DrDuke wrote: ↑18 Aug 2018, 12:48
1. Lennox Lewis - a truly legendary boxer, I even rate him as the best British p4p boxer ever as well as the best heavyweight ever and I don't think, that any explanations are needed for that.
2. Anthony Joshua - he has made really big accomplishments. For the moment he has the best opposition in the division and 3 major belts. An ATG Klitschko is among the scalps.
3. Tyson Fury - for the moment his biggest achievement is not just winning Klitschko, but dethroning him after the long reign as a unified and lineal champion. And he outboxed Klitschko, while Joshua wasn't able to do the same even later. That's his arguably single really big win, but almost nobody else had ever done something similar. He's talented, especially for a fighter of his size and physique.
4. Frank Bruno - was WBC champion dethroned McCall, was a top competitor of the 80s and the 90s with a solid opposition.
5. Bob Fitzsimmons - was a World champion dethroned Corbett, was a major player in his times. Probably his legacy is bigger in p4p sense, but his heavyweight career in particular was good. Not to forget he was the first British HW champ.
6. Joe Bugner - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles along with Australian one due to dual citizenship. He was around the top in the 70s. He was a skillful boxer and pretty elusive, I'd say, that style wasn't too common for European fighters. Cooper win was controversial and not so spectacular, but still a win, so he is slightly over Cooper. Furthermore he was better, than Cooper, in Ali fights and he even made look both Ali and Frazier not very spectacular in their fights. Actually his fights weren't spectacular overall, but that was a kinda accomplishment, as he was able to drag opponents in his style of fight and he sometimes was successful there against a notable opposition.
7. Henry Cooper - his biggest accoplishments were British, Commonwealth and European titles, he had some decent scalps. A top fighter of his times. Scored a legendary knockdown in Ali bout.
8. Tommy Farr - his biggest accoplishments were British and Commonwealth titles, but he was a good boxer with some good wins including a one over HFer Baer. He also went the distance vs Louis and was able to trouble him several times.
9. David Haye - was WBA champ. A top competitor of the late 2000s - early 2010s. He won the championship from a one of the worst HW champs and defended against the other one, but it is what it is. His career could have been better, but still he was able to show, that he was a skillful boxer, talented and slick.
10. Joe Erskine - was British and Commonwealth champ, held some notable wins including the ones in his prolonged rivalry vs Cooper.

Very good list, agree with 1-9. Not sure about 10, I'd probably go for Gary Mason

gp. · Post by **gp.** » 14 Nov 2018, 10:07

tigerpomfret wrote: ↑15 Apr 2006, 06:53 ivlark, So what your saying is lewis was so proud to be british he represented Canada in the olympics...how does that work?am i missing something?it doesn`t make any difference if he is GAY or not,but refusing to fight for britain says it all.

You are not very clued in on how amateur sports work, are you.

Jacopodb · Post by **Jacopodb** » 25 Nov 2018, 06:19

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑13 Nov 2018, 16:59 Bruno was far from perfect, but he least he had some decent scalps. So far, Fury and Joshua biggest win is over a guy in his 40s.

If you stop and think about it (most probably even if you don't), you'd notice that the similarities between Joshua and Bruno are quite impressive: their bodies, their styles, their reach, their power... Where they came from...

But as I've already stated in a different context, Joshua to me looks like just a slower, less-entertaining Frank Bruno, adding the fact that Joshua doesn't even have the chance to fight some greats in their prime...

If only I had seen Joshua landing a solid uppercut to the body... I've seen him doing it, exceptionally, but against slower, shorter, fatter opponents without any shadow of a footwork... He actually had the chance to do it against Whyte, which would've ended the bout earlier and in a classier, old-fashioned style, but he just kept coming with that relentless one-two all the time...

Anyway I must admit he's quite effective. At least that.

polecateddy · Post by **polecateddy** » 25 Nov 2018, 11:31

I think Boxing News had a pretty good stab at this a few years ago. David Haye featured quite highly. On ability I'd probably say;

1. Lennox Lewis
2. Anthony Joshua
3. Tyson Fury
4. Henry Akinwande
5. David Haye
6. Frank Bruno
7. Herbie Hide
8. Gary Mason
9. Dillon Whyte
10. Dereck Chisora

top 10 british heavyweights of all time

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