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Britain has hosted some of the best nights in boxing history, from open-air stadium fights in the 1960s to the 90,000-strong crowds of the modern era. With Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua heading towards the all-British heavyweight fight fans have wanted for years, the Fury Joshua odds have put a long rivalry back in the spotlight. Before the first bell, it helps to look back at the fights that set the standard any British super-fight is measured against.
Henry Cooper v Cassius Clay, 1963
In June 1963, Henry Cooper met a young Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, at Wembley Stadium. Late in the fourth round, Cooper’s left hook, known as ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer, put the American on the canvas. The bell saved Clay, and the delay over a split glove before the next round has been argued about ever since. Clay opened a bad cut over Cooper’s eye in the fifth and the fight was stopped.
Cooper lost, but the knockdown made him a national favourite for life.
Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank, 1990
Few British rivalries have been as bitter as Nigel Benn against Chris Eubank. They met for Benn’s WBO middleweight title at the NEC in Birmingham in November 1990, the puncher against the showman. Both men took heavy punishment before Eubank forced the stoppage in the ninth round.
The pair met again at Old Trafford in 1993, and that rematch ended in a draw. Their first meeting is still the one British fans rank higher.
Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu, 2005
Manchester stayed up past 2am in June 2005 to watch Ricky Hatton challenge Kostya Tszyu for the IBF light-welterweight title. Tszyu was the established champion and the favourite. Hatton walked him down for 11 rounds, leaning on him and working the body, until Tszyu’s corner pulled him out before the final round.
It turned a popular domestic fighter into a world star.
Carl Froch v George Groves II, 2014
Their first fight in Manchester ended with a disputed early stoppage, so the rematch needed a bigger stage. Around 80,000 people filled Wembley in May 2014, a post-war record for a British boxing crowd at the time. Groves started well, but in the eighth round Froch landed a right hand that ended the argument for good.
Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko, 2017
Three years later Wembley held 90,000 for Anthony Joshua against Wladimir Klitschko, with the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles on the line. Joshua dropped Klitschko in the fifth round and was dropped himself in the sixth. In the 11th, a right uppercut started the finish, and two more knockdowns followed before the referee stepped in.
That night made Joshua the biggest name in British boxing.
Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte, 2022
Fury had his own Wembley night in April 2022, defending the WBC title against Dillian Whyte in front of a reported 94,000. A short uppercut in the sixth round ended it. Two years later Joshua’s fight with Daniel Dubois drew around 96,000 to the same stadium, although Dubois won by knockout in the fifth.
Both men have filled Britain’s biggest venue, and a meeting between them on home soil would sit naturally alongside the best nights above.
Where Fury v Joshua could rank
The fights on this list share at least one of three things: a real rivalry, a huge crowd or a major title. Fury against Joshua has the first two in abundance, and the chance to settle which man was the better British heavyweight of his generation.
Where it ranks depends on what happens in the ring. Benn and Eubank delivered a classic, while plenty of hyped fights have fallen flat. Anyone weighing up the wider heavyweight scene can compare boxing betting odds across the division, but history shows a big crowd guarantees nothing. Cooper went into British folklore after a defeat.