I know this has been done to death - but watching Laing vs Duran the other day, what is the greatest win by a British fighter and can we think of a win where there is no "angle" for why the opponent lost.
E.g. Laing vs Duran - Duran wasn't motivated and not at his ideal weight. Yes Duran seemed to be very subdued that night - a master class of disciplined boxing by Laing and great cornerwork by Duff (Laing gave away a couple of rounds by doing too little - had those been in a neutral venue etc they might have been scored for Laing anyway - but Duff told Laing off and the next round, Laing was busier). You could almost sense Duff believing in Laing more and more as the fight progressed - but Duran was not at his best.
Hatton vs Tszyu - Tszyu not at his best, it was in the UK etc.
Honeyghan vs Curry - Curry had weight problems.
Fury vs Klitschko - Klitschko nearly 40.
Robinson vs Turpin - Robinson took Turpin lightly?
What is the stand out win where we can go - fair enough, cannot argue against that.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 08:10
by boxerrob2005
Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko
Klitschko would never lose again and nobody apart from Corrie Sanders would come close to beating him.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 08:36
by big lennox
Calzaghe vs Lacy.
Lacy was formidable going into that fight, much less so afterwards. And I think that was because Calzaghe was so sharp that night.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 08:58
by stujones
Two not bad shouts - of course there are Angles for both - Lacy being overated (never fought an elite champion before etc), and Klitchscko being a bit green and under prepered - but both great shout. I am just really struggling to find one that ticks all the boxes etc.
Kessler for JC maybe? But then he was outclassed by Ward a few fights later in a bigger fashion.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 09:20
by big lennox
stujones wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 08:58
Two not bad shouts - of course there are Angles for both - Lacy being overated (never fought an elite champion before etc), and Klitchscko being a bit green and under prepered - but both great shout. I am just really struggling to find one that ticks all the boxes etc.
Kessler for JC maybe? But then he was outclassed by Ward a few fights later in a bigger fashion.
I put an asterisk next to Ward's win over Kessler.
I enjoy listening to Ward in interviews, and on commentary, but his illegal use of the head that night against Kessler was something else. I watched it live and it was blatant.
Ward probably would have beaten Kessler without the use of the head but it certainly had a big outcome on the result that evening.
Any win over Vitali is a good win (he was as tough as old boots), but agree that he hadn't yet reached his peak and Lewis had gone over his, I think.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 09:43
by JamesPhilips
Danny Williams Mike Tyson?
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 09:49
by stujones
JamesPhilips wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 09:43
Danny Williams Mike Tyson?
That would be more on the same lines as Khan vs MAB… Williams the bigger upset yes cos Khan was the better boxer.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 10:25
by damage
I'd go with Honeyghan,he never let Curry settle at all from the 1st bell.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 12:10
by olij999
stujones wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 08:02
I know this has been done to death - but watching Laing vs Duran the other day, what is the greatest win by a British fighter and can we think of a win where there is no "angle" for why the opponent lost.
E.g. Laing vs Duran - Duran wasn't motivated and not at his ideal weight. Yes Duran seemed to be very subdued that night - a master class of disciplined boxing by Laing and great cornerwork by Duff (Laing gave away a couple of rounds by doing too little - had those been in a neutral venue etc they might have been scored for Laing anyway - but Duff told Laing off and the next round, Laing was busier). You could almost sense Duff believing in Laing more and more as the fight progressed - but Duran was not at his best.
Hatton vs Tszyu - Tszyu not at his best, it was in the UK etc.
Honeyghan vs Curry - Curry had weight problems.
Fury vs Klitschko - Klitschko nearly 40.
Robinson vs Turpin - Robinson took Turpin lightly?
What is the stand out win where we can go - fair enough, cannot argue against that.
A lot of the "angle" re Duran v Laing came after the event. Worth recalling that a BBC reporter wrote to Boxing News before the contest, criticising the match because he said Laing was at risk of being killed - that's how risky people thought the fight was. Before Laing, Duran had had no problem in non-title fights where he weighed in over 150lbs, including against decent opposition. Duran was 74-3 at the time, with the only losses being to DeJesus, Leonard and Benitez. So even though Duran was not in his very best shape, it ranks pretty highly. But I am biased.
Stracey dethroning Napoles was a very big win - while Napoles was starting to creak, no-one had done that to him (apart from Monzon, but that was at middle), and Stracey came off the floor to win.
Ken Buchanan's first win over Laguna is also pretty massive, given the heat and Laguna's quality.
Honeyghan v Curry is probably the best for me, though.
stujones wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 08:02
I know this has been done to death - but watching Laing vs Duran the other day, what is the greatest win by a British fighter and can we think of a win where there is no "angle" for why the opponent lost.
E.g. Laing vs Duran - Duran wasn't motivated and not at his ideal weight. Yes Duran seemed to be very subdued that night - a master class of disciplined boxing by Laing and great cornerwork by Duff (Laing gave away a couple of rounds by doing too little - had those been in a neutral venue etc they might have been scored for Laing anyway - but Duff told Laing off and the next round, Laing was busier). You could almost sense Duff believing in Laing more and more as the fight progressed - but Duran was not at his best.
Hatton vs Tszyu - Tszyu not at his best, it was in the UK etc.
Honeyghan vs Curry - Curry had weight problems.
Fury vs Klitschko - Klitschko nearly 40.
Robinson vs Turpin - Robinson took Turpin lightly?
What is the stand out win where we can go - fair enough, cannot argue against that.
A lot of the "angle" re Duran v Laing came after the event. Worth recalling that a BBC reporter wrote to Boxing News before the contest, criticising the match because he said Laing was at risk of being killed - that's how risky people thought the fight was. Before Laing, Duran had had no problem in non-title fights where he weighed in over 150lbs, including against decent opposition. Duran was 74-3 at the time, with the only losses being to DeJesus, Leonard and Benitez. So even though Duran was not in his very best shape, it ranks pretty highly. But I am biased.
Stracey dethroning Napoles was a very big win - while Napoles was starting to creak, no-one had done that to him (apart from Monzon, but that was at middle), and Stracey came off the floor to win.
Ken Buchanan's first win over Laguna is also pretty massive, given the heat and Laguna's quality.
Honeyghan v Curry is probably the best for me, though.
Its a pretty impressive performance no doubting that - re Laing vs Duran - Duran just did not seem focused on the fight - tapping Laing's gloves and smiling a lot.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 13:45
by Glass Joe
JamesPhilips wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 09:43
Danny Williams Mike Tyson?
I was buzzing watching that and then going to work.
big lennox wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 08:36
Calzaghe vs Lacy.
Lacy was formidable going into that fight, much less so afterwards. And I think that was because Calzaghe was so sharp that night.
Think most would agree Lacy was all hype. Pretty sure Lacy struggled agaist Donnell Wiggins. Calzaghe did ruin him.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 14:11
by paultom
damage wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 10:25
I'd go with Honeyghan,he never let Curry settle at all from the 1st bell.
This, I don't recall anyone saying Curry had any weight issues pre fight,it really was a massive shock
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 14:34
by orbtastic
Tezza D did a big article about it a while ago using contemporaneous articles, one showing he was on a diet of chewing gum in the week leading up the fight. A bit like Kevin Rooney training on lettuce in the build-up to the Arguello fight.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 14:44
by orbtastic
"Despite the nature of the win over Curry there was a certain amount of scepticism in the U.S. Curry had battled the scales in previous title contests, (in)famously resorting to chewing gum to generate saliva when drying down to 147 for a WBA and IBF defence against Colin Jones in January 1985.
Indeed, the champion was rumoured to have dropped 21lbs in three weeks ahead of the fight with Honeyghan, with 10lbs coming off during fight week. When winning contests, Curry’s battle with the scales had added to his mystique, defeat turned everything on its head, though; the revisionists insisted that Don had been an accident waiting to happen. That it happened against an unknown and bolshie Brit was too much to bear."
He had also had his head turned by his advisor SRL who was already talking about moving up in weight in future bouts but convinced him to stay 147 and not have any eyes on Hagler (who he was fixing to fight). In fact Curry sued him for $1m:
Completely off topic - but Prime Curry vs Leonard is one of my all time "missed" fights.
People mention Pryor but for me it was Curry vs Leonard.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 15:40
by SeanBrennan
not an all time great of course but as I watched it live on BBC and was a massive fan of his, watching Carl Thompson spark South African chap Sebastian Rothmann for the IBO after looking to be finished, was amazing. The knockout was stunning. I remember Rothmann being extremely graceful in defeat too. So memorable.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 15:58
by orbtastic
He was a mile ahead against Bell too before taking a huge straight right that poleaxed him for a good few minutes.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 16:26
by SeanBrennan
orbtastic wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 15:58
He was a mile ahead against Bell too before taking a huge straight right that poleaxed him for a good few minutes.
had never seen that, thanks for heads up, what a shot. Fight is here if anyone is interested
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 16:45
by Giancarlo
My picks would be Honeyghan vs Curry & Buchanan vs Laguna in Puerto Rico
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 16:53
by jamesmcdonnell
Turpin's wins over Robinson for me, Robinson was on a huge winning streak, and was although a little past his best, still near enough that Turpin was a rank outsider.
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 17:09
by stujones
No mention of Benn vs McClellan yet?
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 17:10
by margaret thatcher
true, great win, though i think a lotta ppl are uncomfortable to celebrate it (despite gerald being a nasty creature)
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 17:14
by Coco
stujones wrote: ↑16 Apr 2024, 17:09
No mention of Benn vs McClellan yet?
I think that would be my number one, Stracey deserves a mention too
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 16 Apr 2024, 17:22
by dr_devious
Freddie Welsh beat Benny Leonard in one of their fights
Re: Greatest win by a British fighter.
Posted: 17 Apr 2024, 08:43
by rob h
It has to be Turpin vs Robinson for me also. I also love that Laing got the win over the great Duran.