Best Ever Victories By British Boxers
Over the last decade, British boxing has had its fair share of superstars. Both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have reigned as heavyweight champions of the world, while Daniel Dubois looks set to follow in their footsteps. Kell Brook was once the IBF welterweight champ, while Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn recently delivered arguably the fight of the year.
But which British boxers have delivered the single most emphatic victories over the years? Here are our picks for the greatest victories by any British boxers of all time.
Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson
The build-up to Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson back in June 2002 had to be seen to be believed. Tyson was somewhat of a faded colossus, but he still radiated the menace of the “Baddest Man on the Planet” that everyone had come to know and fear.
Lewis, meanwhile, was seen as both a Canadian boxer and a British boxer – more on that momentarily. He brought stately composure, tactical brilliance, and the airs of a unified champion determined to cement his legacy.
The Lion once won an Olympic gold medal fighting under the Maple Leaf flag, and as such, Canada claims him as one of the most famous Canadian boxers who’s ever lived. However, born in London, Lewis is unquestionably British, and he flew the Union Jack high on this hot summer’s night in Memphis.
The atmosphere was as combustible as anything the fight game has ever seen before. Swirling rumors, tabloid drama, and a notorious press conference melee where a raging Tyson bit Lewis’s leg—all lent the fight an electricity that crackled beyond the ring. “Can Lewis survive Tyson’s early fire?” was the question whispered in fight circles. It was about to be answered emphatically.
From the opening bell, Lewis painted a masterpiece in efficient brutality. His jab was a battering ram, landing with metronomic certainty. Tyson, rushing forward with trademark aggression, found nothing but Lewis’s stiff left and a hard ring floor under his feet. As the rounds counted down, the gulf in class was exposed; Lewis’s combinations punished Tyson until, in the eighth, a thunderous right hand—a shot heard around the world—crumpled Tyson for good.
Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko
November 28, 2015, Düsseldorf: a castle built on certainty finally fell, toppled by a giant who danced, taunted, and tore up the script. Back then, Wladimir Klitschko was the undisputed king of the big boys, reigning over the heavyweight division with an iron fist and defeating all comers. Brash Brit Tyson Fury was expected to become the 22nd straight opponent to step up and be sent down, but nobody told the Gypsy King that.
Fury’s antics stole the show long before the first bell. Arriving at press conferences in Batman costumes, singing songs to his wife, and peppering the air with unpredictable jibes, the road Traveller soaked up the moment with fearless bravado. Klitschko, holding the heavyweight crown for nearly a decade, remained steely and silent—an emperor awaiting another challenger. But under his porcelain smile was a man who was rattled by his erratic challenger.
What unfolded was a robot malfunctioning. Fury, at 6’9”, was bigger than Klitschko but far less conventional. He feinted, switched stances, darted out of range, fought tall, fought loose. Klitschko, usually the general, was made a hesitant bystander—his famed right hand never unleashed.
Fury outlanded, outmaneuvered, and—crucially—out-thought the old master. By night’s end, the judges saw what the crowd had felt building: a new heavyweight king. Fury by unanimous decision—an upset so seismic it altered the sport’s geography overnight, crowning a Gypsy King and sparking a new heavyweight renaissance.
Bodog Rewind™️
— Bodog (@BodogCA) November 29, 2022
2015: Boxer Tyson Fury KO’s Wladimir Klitschko to become the unified World Heavyweight Champion! 🥊
pic.twitter.com/SJJWBCxBgQ
Joe Calzaghe vs. Bernard Hopkins
By 2008, nobody was doubting Joe Clazaghe’s quality. The undefeated Welshman had beaten all comers throughout a decade-long super middleweight championship reign. However, he had never crossed the Atlantic and faced off in a money fight against an American superstar. That April, it all changed.
Calzaghe journeyed to Las Vegas to fight Bernard Hopkins, a champion as crafty as they come. For the Welsh hero, the stakes were clear: survive Hopkins’s dark arts, and greatness beckoned.
Hopkins, the wily veteran, drew first blood, shockingly dropping Calzaghe with a right hand in round one. The tone was set for a war of attrition. But Calzaghe, undaunted, turned up the volume, doubling and tripling his punch output as he surged through the middle rounds. Hopkins clinched, fouled, and barked complaints, but the Welshman’s unyielding work rate and adaptability overwhelmed him. By the final bell, Calzaghe was bloodied but unbowed; the split decision win extended his remarkable unbeaten streak and confirmed his legacy as one of the era’s greatest pure boxers.
Hopkins was seven years the elder at the time of the fight, and many thought he had passed his best., However, that ultimately proved to be untrue, with B-Hop reigning as light heavyweight champion as recently as 2014, well past his 49th birthday. That made Calzaghe’s triumph all the more impressive, as Hopkins was far from the washed-up fighter that many incorrectly proclaimed him to be.
