BoxRec

Without getting into a dense lineal title debate, David Haye is essentially Britain's FOURTH heavyweight champ, yes?

1. Bob Fitzsimmons (even though he left Cornwall as a boy & apparently spoke with a New Zealand accent...oh dear)
2. Lennox Lewis (replace 'Cornwall' with 'London' & 'New Zealand' with 'weird Canadian-Jamaican hybrid' and we're starting to have a theme)
3. Frank Bruno
4. David Haye

Considering the opponents and the belts at stake, I would say those are our four British world champs, even if Bruno and Haye have slightly more credible claims to being British world champs.

But Herbie Hide and Henry Akinwande? Do we really want to consider these guys and their crappy WBO belts as authentic reigns? Akinwande who only had to roll over JEREMY WILLIAMS for a cheap belt when Lewis, Holyfield, Tyson, Bowe, Golata, Mercer, McCall, Tua, Witherspoon and many others were knocking about?

Herbie Hide who beat a novice undergoing dangerous blackouts in Michael Bentt and later a 40 year old drug addled Tony Tucker, then had the audacity to claim Lewis & Holyfield were 'ducking' him whilst he bumped off obscure German and American clubfighters in title defences?

Please, PLEASE tell me Ian Darke got it wrong, and we Brit fans dont consider Hide and Akinwande as 'champions' of any description?

NO we do not.

we do, but not in a "global" sense.

Herbie is a British heavyweight champ even though the opponent wasn't much, and Akinwande is an authentic European champ, yet both steered around each other when they should have boxed in 93/94.

Had ethy fought, one of the pair would actually have a young undefeated 'name' victim on their record. Lol.

Poor, poor, poor.

just because no one likes the belt, they were still world champs!!

It could also be said that Hide and Akinwande are as British as Greg Rudeski!!
Also while Bruno won a genuine belt he won it against a very poor McCall and must be regarded as weak as champion as Hide and Akinwande

I don't consider them that, no.

Does it depend on the fighter as much as the title? How many would say no but would consider Chris Eubank, for example, a world champ?

You could claim Bentt as well.

Herbie Hide was World Champion... You can't take that away from him...

Also, Joe Bugner and Audley Harrison were both WBF 'world' champions and Matt Skelton was the WBU 'world' champion - for what that's worth.

ERIC GUY wrote:just because no one likes the belt, they were still world champs!!

At the end of the day Herbie boxed excellent against Bent,who one fight before destroyed Tommy Morrison..Enough said!!!
Hes never been a world beater but he is a ex heavyweight champion of the world

Wasn't Johnny Nelson a WBF heavy champ also?

Terry D wrote:

Floyd wrote:You could claim Bentt as well.

Was going to throw that in myself. When Darkie said that I thought I was bombed out of my head. I was but the figure still didn't add up. Then I threw in the fringe wins and away you go. Lewis and Fitzsimmons were champions. Arguably Lewis, who defended his belt numerous times, was the only true one, as the others had either fringe titles or lost the championship at the first hurdle.

BBC also missed it too.

Poor fake Sonny Liston.

Floyd,
Indeed Mr Nelson was.
Earlier this year I auctioned off the belt for him, to raise funds for St Johns Ambulance.

twenty six wrote:Floyd,
Indeed Mr Nelson was.
Earlier this year I auctioned off the belt for him, to raise funds for St Johns Ambulance.

How Much did t make?

overhand_right wrote:Without getting into a dense lineal title debate, David Haye is essentially Britain's FOURTH heavyweight champ, yes?

1. Bob Fitzsimmons (even though he left Cornwall as a boy & apparently spoke with a New Zealand accent...oh dear)
2. Lennox Lewis (replace 'Cornwall' with 'London' & 'New Zealand' with 'weird Canadian-Jamaican hybrid' and we're starting to have a theme)

But they are still British.

Most Scousers have an Irish dialect but you consider them British? How they sound has nothing to do with where they are from.

Until this decade, the WBO wasn't really valid at heavyweight. On the one hand, it's unfair to treat a title in one division differently than in others, but on the other you could say it's fair comment when you look at the title fights on offer. In the same decade that Lewis, Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Foreman and Holmes were mixing it up, the WBO was giving us Akinwande-Welch, Hide-Reed, Hide-Fischer and hauling Tim Tomashek out of the crowd to face its only marquee champion (Morrison) who didn't dump the belt as soon as they won it (Mercer, Moorer, Bowe).

Londonirish wrote:

twenty six wrote:Floyd,
Indeed Mr Nelson was.
Earlier this year I auctioned off the belt for him, to raise funds for St Johns Ambulance.

How Much did t make?

About £4.99 I'd guess.

I suppose we would have to mention bugner,he won the WBF against bonecrusher smith

Floyd wrote:Wasn't Johnny Nelson a WBF heavy champ also?

Yes and WBU

It raised £1,000.
No need for that Oh Mighty Warrior.
You ever done anything tangible for a worthy cause ?

Calm down 26, he wasn't teasing the auctioning of it, but the worthlessness of the WBF heavyweight belt.
I'm pleased and surprised it raised so much

twenty six wrote:Floyd,
Indeed Mr Nelson was.
Earlier this year I auctioned off the belt for him, to raise funds for St Johns Ambulance.

Thanks 26. Thought so. Good to hear money was raised for a worthy cause.

oliverfennell wrote:Until this decade, the WBO wasn't really valid at heavyweight. On the one hand, it's unfair to treat a title in one division differently than in others, but on the other you could say it's fair comment when you look at the title fights on offer. In the same decade that Lewis, Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Foreman and Holmes were mixing it up, the WBO was giving us Akinwande-Welch, Hide-Reed, Hide-Fischer and hauling Tim Tomashek out of the crowd to face its only marquee champion (Morrison) who didn't dump the belt as soon as they won it (Mercer, Moorer, Bowe).

That pretty much sums it up for me too. The WBO has given a lot of average at best British fighters undeserved opportunities to call themselves world champions.