Comments Thread For: Hearn: Fury vs. Joshua is Biggest Fight in British Boxing History

[Mick Higgs]

It would be easily. Eubank/Benn 2 felt huge at the time but it was shown on free tv. This would fill out any stadium in the country and probably break 2 million PPV buys.




Of course theres a Mexican/French/German/Japanese boxing history. Boxing is very regional for the most part. But if some French bloke says an upcoming fight will be the biggest in French boxing history, you arent gonna know about it unless you speak French and follow French sports media.

I doubt he'd have a cat in hell's chance, but if Nordine Ouabaali was to fight "Monster" Inoue, that it would sell the house out in France & make both of them a fortune.

[Oldskoolg]

A lot of those I've only watched clips off and I would only really be aware of boxing in the early 90s when it was still on terrestrial tele.

Benn/McClellan is one fight I remember watching (or maybe it is just the fall out since and I never saw it live) I do definitely remember, Eubank/Watson on tele too. It is mad to think how big boxing was then when I was 7/8. My family would actually watch it. I think everyone's family would. I remember Eubank/Watson and the image of that is my nan watching that s.hit that is weird. But then again all the kids were watching it too. I will have watched the Eubank/Benn rivalry too.

That era came when I was just a bit too young to really follow it and it was unfortunately punctuated by those terrible injuries to McClellan and Watson.

Then Boxing was hidden away on sky tv which we didnt have until I was about 14/15 and at that point there was Hattons WBU reign of terror and Calzaghe being great one night and then having horrible matches against Starie or whoever the next. Even Naz passed me by a bit but I remember watching him vs Kelly at a friends house.

Hatton's win felt massive at the time against Tszyu and it was.

I'm actually a fan of Calzaghe as far as I am of anyone. But I always feel like he could have done more and chased the big fights. Or even just done the basics and took that f.ucking title of Sven Ottke.

I've since seen Bruno/Lewis but I dont know what the build up to that was like. I'd imagine most wanted Bruno to win.

My memories of Lewis were going to my local snooker club that would screen the PPVs. Which was weird really to let a lot of kids in at 3 in the morning to watch the fights,lol. Holyfield II, Tyson and Vitali I remember.

I also remember Lewis getting wiped out by Rahman in South Africa. That was on bbc. On Monday at school we had an assembly about his loss basically, lol. Failure to prepare was to prepare for failure.

Tbf that headmaster faced a charge of embezzling school funds a few years later. So I'm not sure who he was to sh.it talk Lennox Lewis to a room full of kids.

So I dont feel qualified to rank things like that without living through them but yeah I do realise that probably until I entered my 30's the way I followed boxing was entirely British centric.

You would be correct about Lewis vs Bruno, it was massive because the British public worshipped the ground Bruno walked on particularly being one of the first fighters to actually hurt Mike Tyson. I remember vividly how Bruno called Lewis a “pea****” and the sense was while we accepted Lewis, Bruno was the “real Brit” since Lewis had a trans Atlantic accent that was partially English partially Jamaican and partially Canadian. Lewis grew up playing basketball and grid iron football rather than football as we know it. And Lewis didn’t win gold for GB. Not only was the fight massive in England but it was huge in the USA as well because Bruno had become endearing to American fans as well after the Tyson fight, his ko percentage, etc etc. Later on, while watching the fight with McCall with American Soldiers, not one rooted for McCall, everyone cheered for Bruno. At the time though it seemed that there was nothing Cardiff Arms Park had been created for other than “The Battle of Britain” between two British born fighters fighting for the world heavyweight title, the first time in history....the fact that it was named after “Our Finest Hour” (to quote the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty) speaks volumes about how that fight was viewed at the time. Names like Benn, Lewis, Bruno, Eubank, Moran, Honeyghan, Hamed, Turpin, Buchannon etc....those names are legendary for our island. I’ve been watching this sport since the 70s and a fight with Fury and Joshua may be biggest in terms of money generated (possibly) but not in any way in comparison to Buchannon going to PR and beating Laguna when he was thought to lose, and then unifying and becoming UNDISPUTED. Or Honeyghan DESTROYING the p4p#1 Curry....or hamed winning titles in different weight classes and taking the USA by storm. Or the great Nigel Benn whom is my favourite fighter in history because of his ability to overcome.

[Squared.Circle]

Believe me, I can see what kind of poster you are already so I don’t see a long fruitful interaction with you so I’ll ask you merely to respond to the original line of questioning....and so we see this mindset on here with ANY other nation? Do we ever hear those labels used? Or is this reserved strictly for the unification of Scotland, Wales, and England?

Again, if you're struggling to understand the concept of a nation's boxing history, then you should just give up.

British boxing history, American boxing history, Mexican boxing history, Canadian boxing history, Tajikistani boxing history...I really don't get how you're having so much trouble with it. It's not unique to Britain. Give your racist liccle brain a wobble.

[DaNeutral.]

This is wierd, the Hearn/AJ haters are claiming they dare not speak the name Tyson Fury. Must be frustrating having to resort to lying all the time to push a BS agenda.

[Oldskoolg]

Again, if you're struggling to understand the concept of a nation's boxing history, then you should just give up.

British boxing history, American boxing history, Mexican boxing history, Canadian boxing history, Tajikistani boxing history...I really don't get how you're having so much trouble with it. It's not unique to Britain. Give your racist liccle brain a wobble.

Cheers. Thanks.

[Sparked_26]

You would be correct about Lewis vs Bruno, it was massive because the British public worshipped the ground Bruno walked on particularly being one of the first fighters to actually hurt Mike Tyson. I remember vividly how Bruno called Lewis a “pea****” and the sense was while we accepted Lewis, Bruno was the “real Brit” since Lewis had a trans Atlantic accent that was partially English partially Jamaican and partially Canadian. Lewis grew up playing basketball and grid iron football rather than football as we know it. And Lewis didn’t win gold for GB. Not only was the fight massive in England but it was huge in the USA as well because Bruno had become endearing to American fans as well after the Tyson fight, his ko percentage, etc etc. Later on, while watching the fight with McCall with American Soldiers, not one rooted for McCall, everyone cheered for Bruno. At the time though it seemed that there was nothing Cardiff Arms Park had been created for other than “The Battle of Britain” between two British born fighters fighting for the world heavyweight title, the first time in history....the fact that it was named after “Our Finest Hour” (to quote the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty) speaks volumes about how that fight was viewed at the time. Names like Benn, Lewis, Bruno, Eubank, Moran, Honeyghan, Hamed, Turpin, Buchannon etc....those names are legendary for our island. I’ve been watching this sport since the 70s and a fight with Fury and Joshua may be biggest in terms of money generated (possibly) but not in any way in comparison to Buchannon going to PR and beating Laguna when he was thought to lose, and then unifying and becoming UNDISPUTED. Or Honeyghan DESTROYING the p4p#1 Curry....or hamed winning titles in different weight classes and taking the USA by storm. Or the great Nigel Benn whom is my favourite fighter in history because of his ability to overcome.

Lovely post.

I can see what your saying about those fighters and the odds they overcame - AJ or Fury winning that fight isnt remarkable in and of itself. I struggle watching boxing that isnt live. I guess that makes me a lesser fan in a lot of ways but I always see fights as so bound up in the narrative of that time and then the drama from second to second as it happens.

Even Hagler/Hearns. Knowing the result and watching however many years Iater I basically cant enjoy it because I know it must have been insane to watch live. And imagine what it might have felt like to think Hearns might and definitely could still turn it around.

For me to get into Ken Buchanan I'd have to read around the fights first, biographies before I could appreciate it at all really. Other than on a pretty surface level. I like the little details that you find out like I know Ken used to run in big work boots and McGuigan tells the story that he would run in them so slowly but be going for hours and he would laugh out how slow he ran. But it obviously worked for him.

I see boxing fandom as something that I will grow into outside of the here and now. I love watching boxing but there's so much more for me to get from it.

[Oldskoolg]

Consequently I conjecture, with a king sized amount of certainty, that this fight will be in Saudi Arabia and nowhere near England, Wales, Scotland, Ulster, Cornwall, the borderlands, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, Lothingland, Sheppey, or any other region in the U.K. I can think of.
The people deserve this fight in the country....

[Oldskoolg]

Lovely post.

I can see what your saying about those fighters and the odds they overcame - AJ or Fury winning that fight isnt remarkable in and of itself. I struggle watching boxing that isnt live. I guess that makes me a lesser fan in a lot of ways but I always see fights as so bound up in the narrative of that time and then the drama from second to second as it happens.

Even Hagler/Hearns. Knowing the result and watching however many years Iater I basically cant enjoy it because I know it must have been insane to watch live. And imagine what it might have felt like to think Hearns might and definitely could still turn it around.

For me to get into Ken Buchanan I'd have to read around the fights first, biographies before I could appreciate it at all really. Other than on a pretty surface level. I like the little details that you find out like I know Ken used to run in big work boots and McGuigan tells the story that he would run in them so slowly but be going for hours and he would laugh out how slow he ran. But it obviously worked for him.

I see boxing fandom as something that I will grow into outside of the here and now. I love watching boxing but there's so much more for me to get from it.

Cor blimey....had forgotten to mention Barry. Quite right! I always seem to overlook the fellows from across the water. I suppose Bruno was more in line with “Enry” Cooper in that he almost made it and been the devil for his yank opponents. Consequently, both Fury and AJ would most likely have knocked Frank out, which is hard for me to say but what is....is.
Oh by the way, two brits have fought for a world title since Lewis and Bruno....it happened again when Michael Bent failed to defend his title against Herbie Hide, losing his title by KO.
By the way, good convo. Much obliged.

[BoZz]

Those two have been lying to the public for years now, they know Joshua fans aren't very bright and know fu** all about boxing that's why they'll always get away with it. Everyone knows they ducked Wilder and Fury and they will keep doing so, just wait for the next excuse/s coming out of their mouths, it's either gonna be some money rubbish issue or it's another "mandatory" who deserves a shot at the title, some cruiserweight who looked sh** against rubbish HW's with the name of Usyk.

[Ray*]

Can’t wait for this to be announced.