Usyk vs Dubois 2: Ranking the 10 best wins ever by British fighters

Independent

4 days ago

Daniel Dubois will get his shot at redemption on Saturday night when he takes on Oleksandr Usyk for the second time with the undisputed heavyweight championship on the line.
Usyk knocked Dubois out in the ninth round of their first meeting two years ago, and has since beaten Tyson Fury twice to establish himself as the world's best in boxing's blue-riband division.
Usyk is the pound-for-pound No 1 fighter in the world according to The Ring, highlighting the task ahead of Dubois.
If Dubois can pull off the upset it would be one of the greatest nights in British boxing history. But whose footsteps would he be following in?
Let's take a look at the 10 best wins ever by British fighters ahead of Saturday's showdown.
10. Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield 2
Lewis and Holyfield went head-to-head for heavyweight supremacy at the end of the 20th century across two fights.
The first ended in controversial fashion. Many believed Lewis had comfortably done enough to get his hand raised but the bout was scored a split decision draw.
An immediate rematch was scheduled, with Lewis and Holyfield trading leather for another 12 rounds.
It appeared the rematch was closer, but this time Lewis was given the nod as he cemented himself as the best heavyweight on the planet.
9. Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelley
Hamed was brimming with confidence as he headed Stateside for the first time in his career to take on Kelley in New York, but it almost all went horribly wrong.
The Sheffield featherweight went down three times in the opening rounds of the contest but refused to take a backwards step as he kept looking to knock out his rival.
In the fourth round, Hamed landed a peach of a left hand to leave Kelley out for the count as he announced himself to the American audience.
Due to the level of adversity that he overcame to retain his title, Hamed deserves to make this list.
8. Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko
Some may argue that Klitschko was 41 when he entered the ring in April 2017 to try and win his heavyweight title back from Joshua.
But the Ukrainian was still bouncing around on his toes like a 21-year-old and gave the Brit all he could handle that night in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley.
The two men traded knockdowns and it seemed Joshua was out on his feet on more than one occasion as the fight moved into the championship rounds.
But he somehow summoned some energy out of nowhere to knock Klitschko down twice in the 11th round before the referee jumped in to halt the contest.
It was an epic fight where Joshua had to dig incredibly deep to get over the line and send Klitschko into retirement.
7. Nigel Benn vs Gerald McClellan
McClellan was a wrecking machine when he travelled over to London to face Benn in February 1995. And the fight could not have started worse for Benn as he was knocked out of the ring following a huge onslaught by the American.
There has been plenty of debate over whether Benn was given too much time to get back into the ring, but the referee waved the fight on.
Following his disastrous start, Benn gradually worked his way back into the contest before McClellan eventually took a knee in the 10th round and the fight was stopped.
The world title clash is remembered for the tragic ending, with McClellan subsequently being diagnosed with a severe brain injury after taking significant punishment.
But from Benn's perspective, it was a tremendous performance as he battled back from a huge knockdown to get the win.
6. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 2
Fury and Wilder first faced each other in December 2018. It was the former who controlled the majority of the fight, but Wilder scored two knockdowns to earn a draw.
Fury had boxed off the back foot that night and many expected him to do the same in the rematch. However, the 'Gypsy King' had other ideas.
He immediately took the centre of the ring and pushed Wilder back as he dominated from the opening bell.
Wilder had no answers and was knocked down twice before his corner threw in the towel during the seventh round.
It was a spectacular performance from Fury as he took Wilder's title and unbeaten record from him. They fought for a third time the following year, with Fury surviving two knockdowns before stopping Wilder again.
5. Joe Calzaghe vs Jeff Lacy
Lacy had been billed as a mini-Mike Tyson when he came over to Manchester for a unification clash with Calzaghe in March 2006.
He was unbeaten in 21 fights and was heavily favoured to hand Calzaghe his first loss, with the Welshman well into his thirties and struggling with hand problems.
Calzaghe would later admit that he contemplated pulling out of the fight due to injury, but he was convinced by his father and trainer, Enzo, to face Lacy.
From the opening bell, Calzaghe delivered a masterful display as he rattled off combinations at will.
Lacy showed tremendous bravery but was outclassed round after round and eventually went down in the 12th. His corner ought to have thrown in the towel to save their fighter for another day but Lacy just about made it to the final bell.
There was no doubting who had won as Calzaghe proved what a special talent he really was.
4. Tyson Fury vs Wladimir Klitschko
Fury makes the list for a second time after he managed to dethrone long-standing heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
The younger Klitschko had dominated the division for almost a decade while fighting out of his adopted homeland in Germany, and few gave Fury much hope of ending his reign.
But Fury went over to Dusseldorf full of confidence after getting into Klitschko's head by dressing as Batman for their launch press conference and then constantly trash-talking the Ukrainian.
Once the pair got into the ring, it was Fury who took control as he used his superior reach to keep Klitschko at bay.
It was not the most entertaining fight ever with exchanges becoming scrappy at times – leading to this win not quite making the top three - but Fury's ring generalship was very impressive as he came away with a unanimous decision victory.
3. Ricky Hatton vs Kostya Tszyu
Hatton took on pound-for-pound star Tszyu in front of his adoring fans in Manchester, but they had probably arrived at the venue more in hope than expectation.
Tszyu had only lost once in the previous decade and was the man to beat in the light-welterweight division. He possessed knockout power in both hands, and there was a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before Hatton walked on to a big shot.
But the Mancunian stuck to his gameplan, getting on the inside so that he could not be caught on the end of Tszyu's punches.
He set a ferocious pace that Tszyu simply could not live with, and the fight was waved off ahead of the final round with Tszyu unable to continue.
The MEN Arena – as it was known at the time – erupted, as Hatton collapsed to the canvas after producing the performance of his life.
2. Ken Buchanan vs Ismael Laguna
Buchanan is widely regarded as the best fighter to ever come out of Scotland, and this clash with Laguna in 1970 went some way to cementing his legacy.
Buchanan had retired the previous year after growing frustrated with his lack of opportunities, but he came back to take on Laguna in Puerto Rico.
The fight took place in sweltering conditions, making the task even tougher for Buchanan, but the Scot still produced some dazzling combinations to keep Laguna at arm's length.
It was a closely-fought contest, but it was Buchanan who won a split decision to claim the WBA and The Ring lightweight titles.
Buchanan keeping his cool in unbearable heat against a world-class foe marked this out as one of the all-time great wins.
1. Lloyd Honeyghan vs Donald Curry
Almost 40 years on, this victory is still top of the tree.
When Honeyghan travelled over to New Jersey in September 1986 he was a huge underdog against the unbeaten Curry.
It seemed a formality that pound-for-pound star Curry would defend his welterweight titles before moving up to light-middleweight.
Instead, Honeyghan made a fast start and rocked Curry in the second round. Just as Curry appeared to be gaining a foothold in the fight, Honeyghan hurt him again in the fifth and then dominated the sixth, leading to Curry's corner throwing in the towel.
Winning on foreign soil is tough enough, but beating one of the best fighters on the planet to become unified champion is another matter altogether. That's exactly what Honeyghan did on that famous night in 1986.