Twenty Memorable British Boxers

SI Staff | Dec 14, 2012

Twenty Memorable British Boxers /

Twenty Memorable British Boxers

Amir Khan

At 17, Khan captured silver at the Athens Olympics to become the youngest-ever boxer from the U.K. to win a medal. He unified the titles in the 140-pound division, running his record to 26-1 with 18 knockouts, before losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia.

Ricky Hatton

One of the most popular British fighters of all time, Hatton held titles at light welterweight and welterweight and ran his record to 45-2 with 32 knockouts. His lone defeats came at the hands of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Joe Calzaghe

"The Pride of Wales," who spent 11 years defending his super middleweight titles before moving up to light heavyweight to defeat Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, walked away unbeaten with a mark of 44-0 with 32 knockouts.

Lennox Lewis

The finest heavyweight of his generation, Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko before exiting the sport as undisputed champion in 2003. He retired with a record of 41-2-1 and 32 knockouts, having avenged both losses in convincing fashion.

Prince Naseem Hamed

Known as much for his outrageous ring entrances as his abilities in the square circle, Hamed reinvigorated British boxing and made 15 defenses of the featherweight title before running into a prime Marco Antonio Barrera in 2001. Shortly after, he retired with a record of 36-1 with 31 knockouts.

Chris Eubank

One of boxing's snappiest dressers, Eubank (right) held titles at middleweight (where he was undefeated) and super middleweight before retiring with a record of 45-5-2 and 23 knockouts.

Nigel Benn

"The Dark Destroyer" knocked out his first 22 opponents before falling to Michael Watson in 1989. He'd go on to win titles at middleweight and super middleweight, retiring with a record of 42-5-1 and 35 knockouts.

Lloyd Honeyghan

The Jamaican-born Honeyghan scored on of British boxing's greatest upsets when he stopped Donald Curry for the world welterweight title in 1986. He defended it three times, lost it to Jorge Vaca, then won it back in the rematch.

Barry McGuigan

"The Clones Cyclone" was a relentless pressure fighter who won the featherweight title from longtime champion Eusebio Pedroza in 1985. He remained hugely popular until retiring at 32-3 with 28 stoppages.

Ken Buchanan

Buchanan defeated Ismael Laguna for the lightweight title in 1970 before losing it to Roberto Duran two years later at Madison Square Garden. He also scored victories over Carlos Hernandez, Carlos Ortiz and Jim Watt before retiring with a record of 61-8 with 27 KOs.

John Conteh

The Liverpudlian outpointed Jorge Ahamuda for the WBC light heavyweight title in 1974 before defending it three times. Stripped of the title due to a hand injury, he came up short in three subsequent attempts to regain it.

Henry Cooper

Enormously popular in Great Britain right up until his death in May 2011, Cooper was renowned for his vicious left hook (known as "Enry's 'Ammer") and his knockdown of Cassius Clay in the first of their two fights.

Howard Winstone

Despite losing the tips of three fingers in an accident as a teenager, the Welsh featherweight captured the world featherweight championship with a victory over Japan's Mitsunori Seki in 1968.

Randy Turpin

One of the most exciting British fighters in history, "The Leamington Licker" became a national hero in 1951 with an upset victory over Sugar Ray Robinson for the title. His reign lasted just 64 days, when Robinson won their rematch.

Tommy Farr

He never won a world title, but Farr (left) pushed Joe Louis to the limit when they met at Yankee Stadium in 1937. Louis escaped with a narrow points decision over "The Tonypandy Terror," with the crowd of 50,000 booing lustily when the referee seemingly raised Farr's glove by mistake as the verdict was announced.

Freddie Mills

The light heavyweight champion from 1948 to '50, the colorful Mills (left) retired as one of the most beloved figures in British sport. He walked away with a record of 77-8-6 and 48 knockouts.

Ted "Kid" Lewis

Ranked by longtime Ring Magazine editor Nat Fleischer as the fourth-best welterweight of all time, Lewis had his first fight at 14 and was a champion by 18. He waged one of the all-time great rivalries with Jack Britton: they fought 20 times and traded titles several times.

Jimmy Wilde

Considered by many the greatest flyweight of all time, "The Mighty Atom" had a punch that belied his frail frame. He retired with a record of 137-4-2 with 100 knockouts.

Freddie Welsh

"The Welsh Wizard" won the world lightweight championship and was stopped just once in more than 160 fights (by the legendary Benny Leonard).

Bob Fitzsimmons

The first three-division in boxing history, Fitzsimmons (left) captured belts at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Though he stopped Peter Maher in an 1896 fight that was billed as a world heavyweight title fight, "Ruby Robert" didn't win the recognized lineal title until knocking out James J. Corbett in 14 rounds the following year.

Published Dec 14, 2012

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