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The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Josh Taylor: Ranking Britain's best world champions of the 21st century
Josh Taylor announced his retirement on Monday after a 10-year professional career that saw him become undisputed champion of the super-lightweight division. The 34-year-old southpaw is widely recognised as one of the finest fighters to hail from Scotland and delivered some magical nights both on home soil and abroad. But where does he rank in terms of British world champions in the 21st century? Here, we pick our 10 best male fighters from these shores since the turn of the millennium. 10. Ricky Burns We start the list with another Scot, Ricky Burns. He was not picked out as someone destined for stardom in the early stages of his career, but hard work and doing the basics very well got Burns right to the top of the sport. He first became super-featherweight champion in 2010 by beating hard-punching Roman Martinez in front of his home fans in Glasgow. Burns would go on to capture titles at lightweight and super-lightweight to become a three-division champion. He did have some difficult runs of form in his career and finished with eight defeats on his record, but he still deserves to make the cut for his overall achievements. 9. Anthony Joshua Anthony Joshua is the biggest ticket-seller this country has ever produced, packing out Wembley multiple times. He has also risen to the occasion time and again under immense pressure, securing impressive wins over Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Alexander Povetkin. Being a two-time heavyweight champion is no mean feat, but his devastating losses to Andy Ruiz and Daniel Dubois push him down this list. Joshua underwent elbow surgery earlier this year and has vowed to make a comeback. If he can climb the mountain once more, he could move higher up the rankings. 8. David Haye David Haye 's career finished with consecutive losses to Tony Bellew, but at his peak he was a major force who won titles in two weight classes. He made his mark as a cruiserweight first, heading over to France to beat experienced champion Jean-Marc Mormeck. Haye followed that victory up by blasting out fellow Brit Enzo Maccarinelli inside two rounds to unify the division. 'The Hayemaker' then opted to step up to heavyweight and became champion with another win on the road as he edged past the giant Nikolai Valuev. Two successful defences followed against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison before he fell short in a unification clash with Wladimir Klitschko. 7. Johnny Nelson Johnny Nelson lost 12 of his first 38 fights and has regularly admitted over the years that he lacked the belief to become a champion in the early stages of his career. But he finally started delivering on his potential in the late 1990s and won the WBO cruiserweight world title when he stopped Carl Thompson in 1999. He would go on to retain his title for over six years before retiring in 2006. Nelson remains the longest reigning cruiserweight champion in history and has the joint-most successful consecutive title defences alongside Marco Huck. The level of competition prevents Nelson from being even higher as some Brits faced tougher opponents during their reigns, but he is still one of the best boxers from the UK in the last 25 years. 6. Ricky Hatton The following that Ricky Hatton gathered during his rapid rise was truly remarkable. He may well be the most popular fighter Britain has ever had, and he did his fans proud. His standout moment came in June 2005 when he beat pound-for-pound great Kostya Tszyu on home turf in Manchester. Hatton was not afraid to take risks either, and jumped up to welterweight to win a world title in a second weight division. A knockout victory over Jose Luis Castillo led to him fighting Floyd Mayweather on a memorable night in Las Vegas. Mayweather was simply too good for the Brit, and a devastating knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao followed. But there is no shame in daring to be great and Hatton deserves to be remembered as one of Britain's best. 5. Tyson Fury There were doubts over Tyson Fury from the early stages of his career. Did he really have all the tools to become heavyweight champion of the world? These concerns only grew after he famously punched himself in the face, and then when he was knocked down heavily by former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham. But Fury's belief never wavered as he rose through the rankings before producing a stunning performance to dethrone Wladimir Klitschko in Germany. He stayed away from the ring for almost three years after that win, but returned for a thrilling trilogy with Deontay Wilder, beating the American twice to regain his heavyweight belts. Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk twice last year, but is one of Britain's greatest heavyweights and would have been a handful for anyone simply due to his incredible size and reach. 4. Josh Taylor Some may point out that Josh Taylor lost his final three fights. Many will argue it should have been four after he was controversially declared the winner of his first clash with Jack Catterall. But his brilliant run to undisputed status simply cannot be overlooked. 'The Tartan Tornado' was throw into tough fights from the start of his professional career after starring as an amateur. This allowed him to harden himself for his toughest challenges as he won his first world title by beating Ivan Baranchyk. He unified the division in his next fight by edging a modern-day classic against Regis Prograis to win the World Boxing Super Series. Two fights later, he was the undisputed king after seeing off Jose Ramirez. That historic win came under Covid restrictions and arguably prevented Taylor from getting the recognition he deserves. But he took on unbeaten fighters one after the other and often came out on top, proving himself as an exceptional champion who would face anybody. 3. Carl Froch Much like Taylor, Carl Froch took on the biggest challenges throughout his career. After being left in Joe Calzaghe 's shadow for a number of years, Froch beat Jean Pascal to win his first super-middleweight belt, and would go on to have 12 successive world title fights. He won 10 of them, only losing to Mikkel Kessler and all-time great Andre Ward. Froch avenged the defeat by Kessler, further enhancing his legacy. Froch also racked up victories over Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham and Lucian Bute, before bringing the curtain down on his career by knocking out George Groves at Wembley. 2. Lennox Lewis Lennox Lewis became undisputed heavyweight champion in his final fight of the 20th century by beating Evander Holyfield in their rematch. Moving into the 2000s, he was an ageing champion but still had seven fights, winning six of them. His only loss was a shock stoppage defeat at the hands of the unfancied Hasim Rahman in 2001, but he got his revenge with a devastating knockout of his own later that year. Wins over Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko followed as Lewis retired while still at the very top. Over 20 years on from hanging up his gloves, Lewis is still seen by many as the best heavyweight Britain has ever had. 1. Joe Calzaghe Top of the tree is Joe Calzaghe. He first became champion in 1997 when he outpointed Chris Eubank, but then had a number of low-key title defences for several years while battling hand injuries. There were concerns that fans were losing interest in Calzaghe, but he proved his undeniable class in the final years of his career. Calzaghe's win over Jeff Lacy in 2006 was a masterclass. Lacy had been billed as a mini-Mike Tyson and was tipped to beat Calzaghe, but the Welshman took his rival apart from the opening bell on his way to a landslide points win. The following year, Calzaghe won twice at the Millennium Stadium against Peter Manfredo Jr and Mikkel Kessler to mark himself out as the best super-middleweight on the planet. It was then time to step up to light-heavyweight to fight two boxing legends. First up was Bernard Hopkins, with Calzaghe recovering from a first-round knockdown to get his hand raised. Calzaghe then finished his career by headlining at Madison Square Garden against Roy Jones Jr. Once again, he was dropped in the opening round but proceeded to dominate the rest of the contest to walk away from the sport with an unbeaten 46-0 record.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Taylor deserves place in Hall of Fame
Josh Taylor's accomplishment in becoming undisputed world champion should be recognised as "one of the great British sporting feats ever" and the Scot is deserving a place in boxing's Hall of Fame, according to Carl Frampton. The 34-year-old is retiring from the sport on medical grounds after a career in which he won Commonwealth Games silver and gold medals for Scotland, represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics and became the first – and so far only – male fighter from the UK to capture all four world titles in a single division. "Josh should be proud of everything he's done in his career, especially becoming an undisputed champion," former world champion Frampton said. Taylor 'sadly' announces retirement over eye issue Boxing schedule and results 2025 Watch every Born to Brawl episode "We see how much of a big deal it is that people make of the undisputed heavyweight champion when Oleksander Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at the weekend. Josh Taylor was undisputed in 18 fights - that's unbelievable. Hard to fathom, really. "So I think that's what people should remember Josh for. It literally doesn't happen unless you're someone like a Vasiliy Lomachenko or a Usyk or someone like that. That's the calibre of fighter that achieves this. "Josh Taylor becoming undisputed champion in 18 fights in a marquee division, not down at light-flyweight where nobody fights or anything like that, a marquee division, should be recognised as one of the great British sporting feats ever. "Undisputed light-welterweight champion in 18 fights is Hall of Fame behaviour, I think." Taylor and Frampton, a former two-weight world champion, trained alongside each other when both were under Shane McGuigan's wing, with the Scot making his professional debut on a show headlined by Frampton in Texas back in 2015. "I was there the whole way, pretty much," Frampton told BBC Scotland. "Josh is a great friend of mine and he's a good person as well. And he does a lot of good things behind the scenes, which people don't see. Josh is just a good fella. "I'm very, very proud that I was able to witness some of his greatness up close and personal." More boxing from the BBC Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Taylor deserves place in Hall of Fame
Josh Taylor's accomplishment in becoming undisputed world champion should be recognised as "one of the great British sporting feats ever" and the Scot is deserving a place in boxing's Hall of Fame, according to Carl 34-year-old is retiring from the sport on medical grounds after a career in which he won Commonwealth Games silver and gold medals for Scotland, represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics and became the first – and so far only – male fighter from the UK to capture all four world titles in a single division."Josh should be proud of everything he's done in his career, especially becoming an undisputed champion," former world champion Frampton said. "We see how much of a big deal it is that people make of the undisputed heavyweight champion when Oleksander Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at the weekend. Josh Taylor was undisputed in 18 fights - that's unbelievable. Hard to fathom, really."So I think that's what people should remember Josh for. It literally doesn't happen unless you're someone like a Vasiliy Lomachenko or a Usyk or someone like that. That's the calibre of fighter that achieves this."Josh Taylor becoming undisputed champion in 18 fights in a marquee division, not down at light-flyweight where nobody fights or anything like that, a marquee division, should be recognised as one of the great British sporting feats ever."Undisputed light-welterweight champion in 18 fights is Hall of Fame behaviour, I think."Taylor and Frampton, a former two-weight world champion, trained alongside each other when both were under Shane McGuigan's wing, with the Scot making his professional debut on a show headlined by Frampton in Texas back in 2015."I was there the whole way, pretty much," Frampton told BBC Scotland."Josh is a great friend of mine and he's a good person as well. And he does a lot of good things behind the scenes, which people don't see. Josh is just a good fella."I'm very, very proud that I was able to witness some of his greatness up close and personal."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
He achieved almost everything he set out to do. He climbed his Everest. But now is the right time for Josh Taylor to step away from the ring, his legacy intact, writes Graeme Macpherson
It was typical of Josh Taylor 's stubborn and determined nature that only after a doctor's warning that he could potentially lose his sight did he reluctantly agree to finally hang up his gloves. Every boxer believes they have at least one more bout in them - even Muhammad Ali hung on for a few more years than he really should have - but there is little doubt that this is the correct moment for Taylor to call it a day rather than dragging it out in the forlorn hope of recapturing some of his former glories. The last few years have undoubtedly been a struggle for the Prestonpans southpaw as his advancing years, poor decision-making and a lack of motivation have all contributed to a gradual but unedifying fall down the rankings. As Taylor himself noted in his valedictory message, the medics have 'saved me from myself' by bringing down the curtain on his career almost a decade to the day from when he first entered the professional ranks. Retirement will hit hard like it does with most athletes but the 34-year-old can have no regrets having managed what precious few sportsmen and women do by achieving almost everything he set out to. In becoming the first and so far only British male to become undisputed world champion in the four-belt era, Taylor scaled the heights of his own personal Mount Everest. When he defeated Jose Carlos Ramirez in Las Vegas in May 2021 - knocking down the undefeated American twice on his way to a unanimous points decision - Taylor joined his hero, Ken Buchanan, in becoming an undisputed champion. Taylor has always deferred to Buchanan whenever asked about the greatest Scottish boxer of all time but the pair, and three-weight world champion Ricky Burns, all deserve to be in that conversation. Taylor's achievement in sweeping the board also made him at that time just the third ever male undisputed champion of the modern era, following in the lofty footsteps of Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk, hallowed company indeed. If there were regrets on the Scot's part, they centred on the fact that more people didn't witness the greatest moment of his boxing life. The Ramirez fight took place in the midst of Covid restrictions - Taylor is and was a fierce critic of the pandemic and a vaccine sceptic - meaning only a handful of spectators were inside the arena to watch it in the flesh. Perhaps more galling was the fact that no mainstream British broadcaster chose to pick up the fight, the rights going instead to pay-per-view providers, Fite TV. Taylor, like many Scots sportsmen and women, has often found it difficult to win over an English audience that never quite knew how to take this gallus and often spiky individual. It was perhaps Taylor's misfortune not to have worked under a promotional giant like Eddie Hearn or Frank Warren until right at the very end of his career, someone who would have given his talent the publicity it undoubtedly deserved. It will be instructive to see if this articulate and often charismatic figure now picks up regular television work as a ringside commentator or pundit as would seem the natural next path following his decision to hang up the gloves. Taylor's ability as a boxer, however, was never in question. Tall for the 140lbs division, tough as teak, durable and able to box or brawl as required, the self-styled Tartan Tornado showed early glimpses of his pedigree in an amateur career guided by legendary trainer Terry McCormack that saw his appearance at the London 2012 Olympics book-ended by Commonwealth Games silver and gold medals won in Delhi and Glasgow respectively. Turning professional in 2015 under the guidance of Barry and Shane McGuigan, Taylor benefited from being a team-mate of Carl Frampton's just as the Northern Irishman was competing for world honours. Taylor would often fight on the undercard of major contests before becoming a champion in his own right when he claimed the Commonwealth belt in Meadowbank in just his seventh fight. It was the creation of the World Boxing Super Series that fast-tracked his journey to world level, setting up a best vs best knockout format among the leading contenders in each division, eliminating the usual messing about that often accompanies attempts to put together a major fight. Taylor already held the WBC silver strap when he defeated American Ryan Martin in the quarter-final to set up a last-four bout with Ivan Baranchyk at the Hydro in May 2019. More importantly, the Belarusian also held the IBF title and Taylor eased it from his grasp, flooring Baranchyk twice on his way to a points win to become a world champion in just his 15th fight. The final would take place in London later that year against the highly-fancied American, Regis Prograis, but again Taylor would prove too strong as he added the WBA belt to his growing collection of silverware, before conquering the rest of the division by beating Ramirez two years later. The collective record at the time of his six opponents from Viktor Postol to Ramirez was a staggering 136-1. Nobody could say he had done it the easy way, especially with the Prograis and Ramirez fights taking place away from his home comforts. Becoming undisputed champion should have given Taylor the platform to rule at super-lightweight for years to come or prompt a move up to welterweight where he could have asserted himself at the bigger weight category, having started to struggle to boil down to 140lbs in later contests. Instead, complacency and inactivity led to his downfall. He was fortunate to hold onto all his belts in his homecoming bout with Jack Catterall early in 2022 - gaining a very fortunate nod from the judges - but again didn't heed the warnings. Now on the wrong side of 30, the hunger seemed to have gone out of him, something he acknowledged when he compared fighting Catterall to strolling up Arthur's Seat after scaling Everest by beating Ramirez. Teofimo Lopez took his last remaining world title from him in a one-sided fight in New York in 2023 before Catterall got his revenge - if little glory - in the pair's 2024 rematch. Taylor was now very much on the slide, although he was still full of spark and optimism when he belatedly stepped up to welterweight earlier this year for a match-up with Ekow Essuman. Now training in Liverpool with Joe McNally, Taylor's dream was to go on to become a two-weight world champion but that ambition never got out of the starter's gate, Taylor laboured and ponderous as he fell to the third defeat of his career against a middling opponent who would have been swept aside contemptuously in his prime. The struggles of the last few years, however, shouldn't tarnish the legacy of one of Britain's greatest ever fighters. He never did get to live out his dream of fighting at the home of his beloved Hibs or on the promenade at Edinburgh Castle but the boy from Prestonpans undoubtedly shook up the world on his way to the very top.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Josh Taylor, former undisputed champion, announces retirement from boxing due to eye injury
Scotland's Josh Taylor has been forced to call time on his storied career. Taylor, 34, announced his retirement from professional boxing on Monday morning due to a recurring eye injury. "The Tartan Tornado" says he was advised by doctors to hang up his gloves or risk losing his eyesight. Taylor (19-3, 13 KOs) was the first four-belt undisputed champion from Britain. He won the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) in 2019, which included wins over IBF super lightweight champion Ivan Baranchyk and WBA titleist Regis Prograis. After emerging out of the WBSS with two belts, Taylor chased the other two titles — held by Jose Ramirez — by signing with Ramirez's promoter, Bob Arum's Top Rank. Taylor ultimately defeated Ramirez in 2021 in Las Vegas to unify the four 140-pound belts. Since then, however, Taylor's career has been nothing short of a nightmare. The Scotsman announced his homecoming title defense against little-known mandatory challenger Jack Catterall. In the opinion of many, Catterall deserved to win on the scorecards on that February 2022 night in Glasgow, but was denied the verdict after a heavily disputed decision went in favor of the local fighter. Taylor gave up three of his championships attempting to make a rematch with Catterall, but that failed, and then he was ordered to defend his WBO belt against Teofimo Lopez. Lopez took Taylor's final title by unanimous decision in 2023. A deal was finally reached for a much-anticipated Taylor vs. Catterall rematch following that defeat — and this time the judges did get it right. Catterall was awarded the decision over Taylor in Leeds, England, in the rematch. Looking for a fresh start after essentially three defeats on the bounce, Taylor moved up to welterweight earlier this year and signed with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions to undergo one final run in his career. Essuman, however, outworked and outfought Taylor to hand him another defeat. Although Taylor's retirement officially comes due to an eye injury, the trajectory of his career was heading in that direction anyway. Taylor's journey to capturing all of the belts at super lightweight was special, and he will hope that is his legacy in the sport.
