BoxRec

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2010/britis ... ers-europe

Interesting article from Eric there.

Untill Audley vacated we had the EBU champion at:

Heavy - Audley
Cruiser - Enzo Mac
Light Heavy - Cleverly
Super Middle - Magee
Middle - Barker.
Light Middle - Rhodes.
Welter - M Hatton.
Light Welter - McCloskey
Light - Murray.
Super Bantam - Munroe.
Bantam - McDonell.

Has there been any such period that we've had close to 11 EBU champions simultaneously - that must be a record.

Is this a "golden era" in terms of our European Level boxers, or is it getting easier to get the title. When you think -Harrison, Enzo Mac, Cleverly, Magee, Barker, Hatton, McCloskey, Murray and McDonnell all won a "vacant" EBU title. Only Rhodes and Munroe won the title from a champion.

I am not intending to do any of the fighters disservice but I cannot help but wonder if the EBU title is going down the "Commonwealth" route. When you see how many brits occupy high positions in the rankings (see Eric's report) - its great, but at the same time maybe a little alarming (I'm all for the fighter to earn as much dough as possible).

When you think the EBU champion almost invariably USED to be ranked in the top ten independently - many of those EBU champions cannot be considered top ten material (yet).

It's easier to win it now at Heavyweight I think due to the European dominance at heavyweight. If you look at the European ratings at heavyweight guys like Povetkin, Valuev and Adamek would have been challenging for the European title if they weren't in the World mix.

It's definitely becoming undervalued at the moment or so it seems. It's like it is the new commonwealth or WBF title!

There must have been a time (it would be interesting to find out) when we had a majority of British champions before the fall of the iron curtain when the EBU title was in effect a western European championship. Back in those days, boxing had more strength in depth in places like Spain who had a lot of the lighter weight champions but there isn't a division where British fighters haven't done well in Europe.