British Heavyweights of the last 40 years - who wins and a top 10.

[Fray Bentos]

id have to rewatch the fights as it's been a while, but i recall thinking mason was getting outboxed and losing to biggs before stopping him in the 7th, with biggs even playing around with him and getting cocky.

That's correct!

If I remember - Biggs threw his arms out and stuck his chin out at Mason inviting him to hit him and Mason did just that.

(He might had stuck his tongue out at him also.)

[polecateddy]

I think Mason would have handled Jean-Maurice Chanet in a Euro shot if Lewis hadn’t got there first. If Mason was really only bog standard British title level I don’t think he would have achieved the level of fame he did at the time. Hughroy Currie was stopped. Mason also dealt with James ‘Quick’ Tillis as well as Bruno did - 5 rounds.

[funso banjo baby]

Since the days of Bruno there have often been big British fighters who have avoided the domestic scene and title entirely (Bruno, 80's Bugner , Haye etc)

But I have to say the era of audley, Williams, sprott, Skelton, Rogan and sexton was one that will be viewed as a golden age of domestic scraps in years to come.

Like them or loathe them there were some great series of fights with the added bonus of Danny's positively Rocky exploits against Tyson and Klit. Crazy stuff.

In terms of drama and rematches/trilogies etc you'd have to go back the heady days of 50's 60's scene for a comparable era ( Cooper/London/ Erskine/ bygraves/ Gardner/ Cockell etc

[polecateddy]

Since the days of Bruno there have often been big British fighters who have avoided the domestic scene and title entirely (Bruno, 80's Bugner , Haye etc)

But I have to say the era of audley, Williams, sprott, Skelton, Rogan and sexton was one that will be viewed as a golden age of domestic scraps in years to come.

Like them or loathe them there were some great series of fights with the added bonus of Danny's positively Rocky exploits against Tyson and Klit. Crazy stuff.

In terms of drama and rematches/trilogies etc you'd have to go back the heady days of 50's 60's scene for a comparable era ( Cooper/London/ Erskine/ bygraves/ Gardner/ Cockell etc

On some level the Danny Williams and co years really came about because none of them could successfully transition to a higher level. Skelton probably made the best fist of it, but still lost a wide points decision in his world title try.

[stujones]

Since the days of Bruno there have often been big British fighters who have avoided the domestic scene and title entirely (Bruno, 80's Bugner , Haye etc)

But I have to say the era of audley, Williams, sprott, Skelton, Rogan and sexton was one that will be viewed as a golden age of domestic scraps in years to come.

Like them or loathe them there were some great series of fights with the added bonus of Danny's positively Rocky exploits against Tyson and Klit. Crazy stuff.

In terms of drama and rematches/trilogies etc you'd have to go back the heady days of 50's 60's scene for a comparable era ( Cooper/London/ Erskine/ bygraves/ Gardner/ Cockell etc

Slightly rose tinted maybe - sadly a good many of the fights between them were DIRE. Williams vs Harrison 1 was shocking, One of the Williams vs Skelton fights was quite good the other was piss poor. A side from the dramatic ending - Harrison vs Sprott 2 was terrible as was the second (I think) Williams vs Sprott fight (the one Williams was robbed).

[funso banjo baby]

There were many fights in this period some bad some good.
Williams v sprott 2 was dramatic as hell
You're forgetting the Rogan v Skelton war. And at the tail end that final round in prizefighter between sprott and Skelton at the York hall.
Also Sam Sexton's wars with Rogan

A non domestic scrap that hasn't appeared on YouTube yet but really needs to is the three rounds of utter madness when bob mirovic fought Skelton. Both were throwing anvils at each other...Skelton almost quit on his stool before dragging victory from the depths.

[polecateddy]

There were many fights in this period some bad some good.
Williams v sprott 2 was dramatic as hell
You're forgetting the Rogan v Skelton war. And at the tail end that final round in prizefighter between sprott and Skelton at the York hall.
Also Sam Sexton's wars with Rogan

A non domestic scrap that hasn't appeared on YouTube yet but really needs to is the three rounds of utter madness when bob mirovic fought Skelton. Both were throwing anvils at each other...Skelton almost quit on his stool before dragging victory from the depths.

Skelton was an odd one. A not quite elite K1 kick-boxer, who wasn’t thought of as a puncher. Then turned to boxing and thought he then was a puncher, but as soon as he stepped up to British level it was obvious he wasn’t a puncher, but a good grinder.

[jameswilson]

There were many fights in this period some bad some good.
Williams v sprott 2 was dramatic as hell
You're forgetting the Rogan v Skelton war. And at the tail end that final round in prizefighter between sprott and Skelton at the York hall.
Also Sam Sexton's wars with Rogan

A non domestic scrap that hasn't appeared on YouTube yet but really needs to is the three rounds of utter madness when bob mirovic fought Skelton. Both were throwing anvils at each other...Skelton almost quit on his stool before dragging victory from the depths.

Mirovic quit on his stool in a bit of a pathetic way I thought. Practically pushed his trainer out the way who was screaming that Skelton was about to be pulled out (because of a swollen shut eye.) Mirovic pushes his trainer out the way and walks to the other side of the ring and hugs Skelton and his team.

[polecateddy]

There were many fights in this period some bad some good.
Williams v sprott 2 was dramatic as hell
You're forgetting the Rogan v Skelton war. And at the tail end that final round in prizefighter between sprott and Skelton at the York hall.
Also Sam Sexton's wars with Rogan

A non domestic scrap that hasn't appeared on YouTube yet but really needs to is the three rounds of utter madness when bob mirovic fought Skelton. Both were throwing anvils at each other...Skelton almost quit on his stool before dragging victory from the depths.

Mirovic quit on his stool in a bit of a pathetic way I thought. Practically pushed his trainer out the way who was screaming that Skelton was about to be pulled out (because of a swollen shut eye.) Mirovic pushes his trainer out the way and walks to the other side of the ring and hugs Skelton and his team.

Yeah that doesn’t sound good. Mirovic never really achieved any good wins. I think his proudest moment was taking Valuev the distance.

[Wee Tommy]

Since the days of Bruno there have often been big British fighters who have avoided the domestic scene and title entirely (Bruno, 80's Bugner , Haye etc)

But I have to say the era of audley, Williams, sprott, Skelton, Rogan and sexton was one that will be viewed as a golden age of domestic scraps in years to come.

Like them or loathe them there were some great series of fights with the added bonus of Danny's positively Rocky exploits against Tyson and Klit. Crazy stuff.

In terms of drama and rematches/trilogies etc you'd have to go back the heady days of 50's 60's scene for a comparable era ( Cooper/London/ Erskine/ bygraves/ Gardner/ Cockell etc

Slightly rose tinted maybe - sadly a good many of the fights between them were DIRE. Williams vs Harrison 1 was shocking, One of the Williams vs Skelton fights was quite good the other was piss poor. A side from the dramatic ending - Harrison vs Sprott 2 was terrible as was the second (I think) Williams vs Sprott fight (the one Williams was robbed).

Exactly what I was thinking.

[jimmystone]

Just watched Lewis v McCall 1 again. First time for a decade or so. Terrible, terrible stoppage. Fury got way longer against Wilder and was in a worse state when allowed to carry on than Len was when stopped. Don King ref.

[marcel laguna]

How would Horace Notice have gone if he had continued his career?

[Fray Bentos]

How would Horace Notice have gone if he had continued his career?

I don't think he would have got past the scheduled fight he had lined up against Damiani.

[stujones]

Just watched Lewis v McCall 1 again. First time for a decade or so. Terrible, terrible stoppage. Fury got way longer against Wilder and was in a worse state when allowed to carry on than Len was when stopped. Don King ref.

Yes he could have continued, but I fear it would have been Curry vs McCory style ending. Yes Lewis beat the count but his legs and eyes weren't in good shape. Perhaps Lewis' biggest fault was he got up way before 8 or 9 - there really though was no way the ref could let him continue he was all of the place and when even when he protested he wobbled back to the ropes.

Fury didn't buckle when the ref was looking at him like his legs couldn't hold his weight. He might have done had he got up at 3, but when the ref had to make the call - Fury looked strong and Lewis was all over the place.

I think actually Fury was closer to perhaps being stopped in fight 3 vs Wilder going down from a soft punch the second time showed he hadn't recovered from KD 1.

[stujones]

Since the days of Bruno there have often been big British fighters who have avoided the domestic scene and title entirely (Bruno, 80's Bugner , Haye etc)

But I have to say the era of audley, Williams, sprott, Skelton, Rogan and sexton was one that will be viewed as a golden age of domestic scraps in years to come.

Like them or loathe them there were some great series of fights with the added bonus of Danny's positively Rocky exploits against Tyson and Klit. Crazy stuff.

In terms of drama and rematches/trilogies etc you'd have to go back the heady days of 50's 60's scene for a comparable era ( Cooper/London/ Erskine/ bygraves/ Gardner/ Cockell etc

Slightly rose tinted maybe - sadly a good many of the fights between them were DIRE. Williams vs Harrison 1 was shocking, One of the Williams vs Skelton fights was quite good the other was piss poor. A side from the dramatic ending - Harrison vs Sprott 2 was terrible as was the second (I think) Williams vs Sprott fight (the one Williams was robbed).

Exactly what I was thinking.

At least though to their credit they did fight each other - we didn't have to wait a year between fights and talent wise (although I might be in the minority) I think Williams is of equal to Whyte and Chisora mark 2022.

[JamesPhilips]

On form, and he’s temperamental, I don’t think anyone in history can beat Tyson Fury

[stujones]

On form, and he’s temperamental, I don’t think anyone in history can beat Tyson Fury

Just don't think he's had enough meaningful wins. I know I'm in the minority on here but the Klitchscko fight for my money was razor razor tight but anyway Klitchscko was in his late 30s (something Fury noted also) - and Wilder is crap.

Undoubtedly would be number 2 of this list (although I did originally say not counting Lewis and Fury) but I don't know if Fury has proven himself against top draw opposition to know his level against the likes of Lewis etc.

[JamesPhilips]

On form, and he’s temperamental, I don’t think anyone in history can beat Tyson Fury

Just don't think he's had enough meaningful wins. I know I'm in the minority on here but the Klitchscko fight for my money was razor razor tight but anyway Klitchscko was in his late 30s (something Fury noted also) - and Wilder is crap.

Undoubtedly would be number 2 of this list (although I did originally say not counting Lewis and Fury) but I don't know if Fury has proven himself against top draw opposition to know his level against the likes of Lewis etc.

The issue is when discussing these kind of historical fights and one that is rarely factored in is temperament. I mean best camp and most focussed is different from reality. Lewis vs Fury depends very much on Tyson’s build up. Whereas apart from the first Rahman fight Lennox generally came up in top form.

[stujones]

On form, and he’s temperamental, I don’t think anyone in history can beat Tyson Fury

Just don't think he's had enough meaningful wins. I know I'm in the minority on here but the Klitchscko fight for my money was razor razor tight but anyway Klitchscko was in his late 30s (something Fury noted also) - and Wilder is crap.

Undoubtedly would be number 2 of this list (although I did originally say not counting Lewis and Fury) but I don't know if Fury has proven himself against top draw opposition to know his level against the likes of Lewis etc.

The issue is when discussing these kind of historical fights and one that is rarely factored in is temperament. I mean best camp and most focussed is different from reality. Lewis vs Fury depends very much on Tyson’s build up. Whereas apart from the first Rahman fight Lennox generally came up in top form.

Oh yes I know what you mean I just don't feel we know enough about Tyson (based on his opposition) on how good he is. Arguably his best win was the 2nd match with Chisora in that the Klitchscko fight could have gone either way IMO and Wilder vs Chisora is not necessarily a forgone conclusion (even the 2022 version of Chis). We don't really know how good Tyson is based on his opponents.

Tyson needs 3/4 more fights IMO for us to properly gage his talent - Dominates Whyte, AJ and Usyk then I think we could draw some comparison with the previous eras.

[Ambling Alp II]

Realistically, what are the chances that he will actually fight all three of these guys?

[The Docker]

Think big Frank is being hugely underrated here. Can't see why Joshua would place above him. Frank fought far worthier opposition later on and at least let punches fly. Contrary to popular believe he had a dodgy chin, he didnt. He took a punch too well but then stood there defenceless to take 40 more. He'd have been served better with a less solid chin where he went down after a decent blow, could take the 10 in an effort to recuperate. Lewis by a country mile for this one.

[stujones]

Think big Frank is being hugely underrated here. Can't see why Joshua would place above him. Frank fought far worthier opposition later on and at least let punches fly. Contrary to popular believe he had a dodgy chin, he didnt. He took a punch too well but then stood there defenceless to take 40 more. He'd have been served better with a less solid chin where he went down after a decent blow, could take the 10 in an effort to recuperate. Lewis by a country mile for this one.

Can see what you are saying and to be fair - I find it hard to seperate Bruno and Joshua - although Joshua's resume is better. Another major issue with Bruno was his stamina. As brave as it was I do think there is some overating of his first fight with Tyson - he hardly throws a punch from the 4th round onwards - he was spent.

I think Bruno could have hurt Joshua, I think Bruno had probably a better boxing IQ than Joshua (and Bruno's wasn't much but that's a poor I rate Joshua on that front) stamina is close and obviously AJ could hurt Bruno. I think AJ naturally size advantage would have possibly been a factor.

[margaret thatcher]

what would rank as frank's top 3-5 wins?

[bennie]

what would rank as frank's top 3-5 wins?

[bennie]

what would rank as frank's top 3-5 wins?

Pierre Coetzer. This fight features Bruno at his most complete. He took his time and showed a bit of everything, including a new nasty streak under trainer George Francis, and Coetzer was a thoroughly beaten man when he was pulled out in the eighth round. To me, it ranks as the greatest performance of Bruno's career.

Gerrie Coetzee. Frank was in fantastic nick and he decked the burly South African in the opener with a beautiful right hand, one of the best punches Frank ever threw. Coetzee beat the count but he was toast and wound up draped over the ropes, all in under two minutes.

Mike Jameson. Nobody took out Jameson as early as Bruno did and that includes Mike Tyson and George Foreman. Bruno nailed Jameson in the second round with a left hook, then a sickening right uppercut as the giant American was falling. Bruno had made a stunning American debut.

Lennox Lewis. Mickey Duff said that Bruno would out-jab Lewis, which Frank Maloney scoffed at, but Bruno did exactly that. He fought a beautiful fight up to the seventh round when he got caught and froze again. He would be back.

Oliver McCall. Bruno built a commanding lead and hung on in the desperate closing rounds when previously his stamina and his chin failed him. It was his fourth world title shot and his victory was a triumph for perseverance and incredible conditioning.