Best British fighters of the last 20 years.

[JAB5239]

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...ritish-boxers/

Pretty good list here. Personally I'd Rate Lewis over Zags, but it's open to interpretation. What are your thoughts?

[markusmod]

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...ritish-boxers/

Pretty good list here. Personally I'd Rate Lewis over Zags, but it's open to interpretation. What are your thoughts?

Hatton was very popular, but he wasn't exactly a highly skilled fighter. They are rating Taylor way too soon on that list

[QueensburyRules]

- - Super Joe undefeated and closed out with a **** with his American debut humiliations of Roy and Poppy.

Lewie one punched twice, once to Bolivia and once to Timbuktu closed out with a schoolboy simpering whimper at the behest of his mommy days before strippage of his last belt, the WBC.

[Marchegiano]

****

This thread forced me to remember 1992 was 30 years ago.

Either way, I think Chris Eubank is the most entertaining boxer of any time frame from any nation and should be on me of these yay UK kind of articles and lists.

Not a bad'en just could do with a little Eubank seasoning on it.

[The Old LefHook]

Not a hell of a lot to choose from among the limeys.

[GhostofDempsey]

Frampton is ranked too high. No Brook?

[markusmod]

Frampton is ranked too high. No Brook?

Frampton was a two division champ and only stopped once. He probably got more big wins than Brook did, but shouldn't be at 5.

[Nash out]

1. Tyson Fury - Has everything. Has a case to say he could beat anyone in history. Beat prime Wlad (fact, what had he lost?) and prime Wilder x2/3.

2. Joe Calzaghe - Incredible workmate, speed, and underrated power. Deservedly beat Hopkins, and that was prime Hopkins regardless of age.

3. Carl Froch - No special effect, but boy, did he have everything else in spades. Great resume.

4. Lennox Lewis - The thing with Lewis, over time, all of his flaws seem to have been forgotten. Zero recovery skills, KO'd twice against B-level guys, showed an inability to go through the gears vs a finished Mercer, who, by the way, beat him. Great wins over Holyfield, and Vitali, some other good wins, and a box ticked with a win over the shell of the ghost of Mike Tyson (not Lewis' fault though) Had Bowe running from him too, so that's a win of sorts.

5. Kell Brook - Highly skilled imo. Had a difficult night in fight 1 vs Carson Jones, but like all great fighters he learned from it, and it is wrongly held against him even today. Excellent against Porter, did all he could vs a prime Golovkin, and was neck and neck against elite Spence for 9 rounds. Beat his career-long rival in Khan, who admittedly, was shot to bits, but a great night for him. I have a feeling that Kell has 2-3 more good wins in him.

6. Chris Eubank Sr. - The ultimate showman who spawned a poundshop version of himself in Jr, who is good by the way. People who watched Eubank's career know how many amazing nights there were. A top fighter that had everything. He lost a bit after the Watson fight, and it's understandable. There will never be another Eubank Sr.

7. Prince Naseem - Naseem was a joy, though, on the flip side, it was a little smoke and mirrors. He was arguably the hardest puncher (single shot) at his weight ever, was fast and unorthodox, but he lacked elite fundamentals and variation, and it showed when Barrera took him to school and Naz, who should have left the ring with a diploma and learned from it, pitted out with a boring points win after it and retired, not wanting to risk losing to the other 7-8 elite fighters who were around/coming to prominence at that time. He ran into retirement knowing that he couldn't beat the best, which showed, despite all of his talk throughout his career, that he didn't truly believe in himself, not at the very highest level.

8. Nigel Benn - Powerhouse, a force in a brilliant middleweight era.

9. David Haye - Haye, in his prime, was a CW that is a challenge for anyone there has ever been. Could prime Haye beat prime Holyfield at CW? You damn right he could. The problem with Haye was, as with most eras, CW is not the strongest division, and it's hard to really get a great resume or a great win there. He went to HW, picked up a decent title win, and survived vs Wlad. In Holyfield's time, it was easier to go up to HW and be the second-best as Holyfield was, as there was only one great big man in Lewis (Vitali and Wlad came too late for prime Holy), in Haye's time there was Fury, Vitali, Wlad, Wilder, Joshua, all who would beat Holyfield (Joshua 50-50, but the rest, yes), and then several good ones. Different times. Those looking through nostalgic glasses will never agree, but you can't win an argument with someone stuck in their ways.

10. Anthony Joshua - Like Eubank, how many great nights has this man had? Exciting, powerful, decent speed, and some brilliant wins. Unfortunately, since the Ruiz loss, more faults, in his mindset as much as anything else have appeared. He's not the same Joshua who believed he could beat anyone anymore. Will a change in team get him back on track? Or has he just lost faith in his chin, and the desire to fight through it is no longer there? We'll see in Usyk 2.

11. Ricky Hatton - Ricky got the great win he needed over Tsyzu, who, if I'm honest, is a little overrated, but still. Some good wins, but what he brought to the Mayweather build up an atmosphere can not be forgotten. Went out on his shield too. The Pac fight was a disaster, but it happens, I'll give him a pass on that.

12. Carl Frampton - At his best in his win over Leo Santa Cruz. It was a brilliant performance that hopefully does not get underrated in time. Honestly though, it was all downhill from there. Northern Irish, but there are so few Irish fighters that you have to include them amongst the British in these kind of lists.

13. Michael Watson - Watson is so underrated, and sadly, as far as his boxing goes, seems to be a little forgotten. We all know what happened, but his career should be remembered more. He was a force in the ring.

14. Billy Joe Saunders - Billy Joe is a very skilled fighter. Many good wins. A problem for most. I got his plan for the Canelo fight right from the off. he felt if he could avoid Canelo's left to the head, he could then get off, and score points, but over time, Canelo has mastered combining the left to the head, with the left to the body and it's hard to stop, and you can feel the power when he lands, so you can't beat THIS VERSION of Canelo, without gaining his respect with your power, like Golovkin did in 1 and 2.

15. Callum Smith - Some good wins such as Groves and Ryder, Ryder was close, but could have went either way, nothing like Catterall vs Taylor. Has some great KO's and real power. Canelo was just too much. You know what they say? Size doesn't matter. The thing is, it's actually true in boxing at world/elite level. Pros and cons to being big. But let's not tell the Fury haters that.

16. George Groves - It was great to see Groves win a world title in the end, but in truth, with the opponent, it was a little underwhelming. Not like Natasha Jonas vs that part-time dishwasher, but still. Excellent vs Eubank, and his performance in Froch 1, was outstanding, only to be spoiled by A-Star, Howard Foster. Froch had put himself right back into it, but it was one of the worst stoppages ever. The rematch was a bore in truth, but capped off by the punch of punches, and that's what people remember.

17. Tony Bellew - Put his career on the line against the big punching, fast, and little-known Makubu. A chance to win his first title against a champion and fave to win was all people needed to know. Bellew almost down and out in R1, showed great balls and knowing he wasn't surviving 12 rounds of this, styles make fights, and Makubu was all wrong for Bellew. He went balls to the wall and got the break he needed. Two big paydays and wins over the shell of David Haye were deserved. We haven't seen Anthony Bellew again since those wins. I hope he's doing okay at home with his wife and kids.

18. Amir Khan - Amir peaked early, but it was probably for the best. Very weak chin, but one that was in some ways not as bad as it was through his willingness to fight through it. Aside from his BKO (balls knock out) vs Crawford, you can't knock Khan's willingness to go out on his shield. The Maidana win was great, and what a fight. Also beat Judah, who was prime then imo, fair and square. Barrera had seen better days, but Khan gave him a lesson, and a few other good wins too. Aside from his first loss, he only lost to very good fighters.

19. James DeGale - Lost a key fight to Groves, though most had him winning, then just drifted away a bit. Though once they fixed his gilmores groin, he came back firing with a whirlwind spell of good victories. He pitted out a bit at the end, but good fighter DeGale.

20. Hughie Fury - I'm calling it now, Hughie will pick up some great wins over the next few years. His fight with Parker could have went either way, fought through a terrible cut for 11 rounds vs Pulev, and rocked him badly in the 8th, and for 6-7 rounds was neck and neck with Povetkin, before tiring due to bad decision making. He's fighting in a bit of a new style now, and whilst it's a bit messy, it's very effective, and suits him as he has an iron chin.

Special mentions.

Dillian Whyte - Fight anyone, many great nights. I just believe Hughie beats him, so there it is.
Dereck Chisora - Brawling, burger sharing, warrior.
Josh Taylor - Undisputed, overrated, deluded, but a good fighter all the same.
David Price - He was must-see TV. Can't not have the big truck on here in some way.
Ricky Burns - He wasn't great, but he maximised all that he had. Had a very good fanbase, and it was a good career. Shame we never got Burns vs Broner.

[GhostofDempsey]

Frampton was a two division champ and only stopped once. He probably got more big wins than Brook did, but shouldn't be at 5.

He was stripped by the WBA for not defending against Rigo, which was his mandatory. His best wins were Santa Cruz, Quigg and Donaire. He also considers himself an Irishman.

[DeeMoney]

How the heck does Hamed make the list? He had one fight in the last 20 years. Are we to believe his decision over Manuel Calvo is enough to solely make this list? Ditto for Lennox, who in the past 20 years had only two pro fights; granted KOs of Tyson and Vitali standout a bit more, but c'mon.

I think the author should change his timeline to make this article a bit more viable.