It has been over a month now since Carl Froch’s rather impetuous criticism on Anthony Joshua being included in The Sun’s Top 10 list of British fighters over the last thirty years. Froch himself was a formidable three-time world super-middleweight champion in his own right. He held impressive wins over distinguished contemporaries such as Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, George Groves and Mikkel Kessler, in a stellar career and should go down as a future boxing Hall of Famer.
Nevertheless, what spurred Froch’s rant? Was he irked by the
tabloid’s view that Froch’s fanciful nemesis and fellow legendary Welsh
super-middleweight fighter, Joe Calzaghe, had topped their list? Was it that
Froch was bemused and maybe even slightly aggrieved that Anthony Joshua was
included in the list when his career is surely far from over (all the other
fighters included in the list are fully retired)? Or, maybe it was because
Froch, who was also known as ‘The Cobra’ during his 35-fight career, which
included 33 wins, was upset that he himself was not included in the Sun’s top
10 list?
Either way, such opinions, and the ensuing yet brief social
media disagreement between Froch and Joshua, in a sport as subjective as
boxing, prompted me to draw up my very own list of Britain’s top ten current
boxers, pound for pound.
1)
Tyson Fury – Fight record – (30-0-1 with
21 K0s)
In February of this year, I witnessed probably
the greatest and certainly the most ruthless performance by a heavyweight in my
lifetime. Fury’s splendid victory over Deontay Wilder on a frenzied night at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, not only confirmed him as both Britain
and the world’s new number one heavyweight, it also confirmed Fury’s position
as the best fighter along these shores. Lest it not be forgotten that Fury
ended the dominant reign of Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 and has now done the
same with Wilder.
Three years ago, ‘The Gypsy King’ was
24-stone, facing a serious battle with mental (and fitness) health and a return
to boxing seemed highly in doubt. Today, the WBC kingpin is arguably the most
talked about fighter in the world and will surely be lining up a fight next
year with fellow Brit, Anthony Joshua, for official supremacy of the
heavyweight division.
2)
Anthony Joshua – Fight record – (23-1-0
with 21 KOs)
Living in this planet probably seemed like
the last place Anthony Joshua wanted to be in after his shock defeat to Andy
Ruiz nearly a year ago. However, mental fortitude has always been one of AJ’s
biggest and underappreciated strengths. Joshua could have decided to axe
his long-time trainer Rob McCracken, and, he could have neglected his rematch clause
with Andy Ruiz and decide to rebuild his career and confidence with fights
against lesser known fighters.
Instead, Joshua accepted his defeat to
Ruiz, dug deep and ignored most of his critics by retaining McCracken and
activating his rematch clause. He analysed where he went wrong and trained
immensely hard for the rematch (losing ten pounds in the process) with Ruiz,
cruising to a unanimous decision win over Mexico’s first ever world heavyweight
champion and reclaiming his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO world titles in
December 2019. Joshua’s career had been fast tracked ever since winning his
first world title against Charles Martin in April 2016. He was never the finished
article and had always been made to learn the hard way despite his rollercoaster
win over old foe Dillian Whyte, the barnstorming triumph over Wladimir
Klitschko and the more measured approach to outpoint Joseph Parker.
However, because of his loss to Ruiz and
Tyson Fury’s demolition of Deontay Wilder, Joshua drops to number two in my
list, behind Fury. Defeating Fury for the undisputed fight would change this.
3)
Josh Taylor – Fight record – (16-0-0 with
12 KOs)
The ‘Tartan Tornado’ who hails from the
small fishing town of Prestonpans, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, captured
Scottish hearts in October of last year with an epic win over American, Regis
Prograis, at The 02 Arena in London to become the unified champion of the
140-pound division. Victory for Taylor confirmed him as the winner of the
inaugural World Boxing Super Series (WBSS): Light-Welterweight tournament and
with that secured him the honourably named Muhammad Ali Trophy.
From what it seems so far, the key to
Taylor building a legacy would be to avoid getting involved in any non-sensical
events such as the one that unfolded towards the end of last year. Continuing
contractual disputes with his former Manager, Barry McGuigan, and Taylor’s
former trainer, Shane McGuigan, Barry’s son, must also be resolved. His amateur
pedigree (winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth games in Glasgow and silver at
the same event in Dehli four years earlier), technical skills, and determination
are certainly not in question. A scheduled fight with Thailand's Apinun Khongsong was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak and a future
undisputed match-up with unified WBC and WBO champion, Jose Ramirez, eagerly
awaits.
4)
Josh Warrington – Fight record – (30-0-0
with 7KOs)
Arguably the most underrated fighter in
this list, Josh Warrington, emerged onto the world scene with a fabulous
victory over the then IBF Featherweight World Champion, Lee Selby, in front of a partisan
Elland Road crowd in May 2018. Warrington was a massive underdog ahead of the
fight against the more naturally talented Welshman Selby.
However, buoyed by a 25,000 strong crowd, Warrington’s
high-octane style proved too much for Selby and evoked memories of Ricky
Hatton’s fervent victory over Kostya Tszyu at the MEN arena back in 2005. Since
then, Warrington has gone on to defeat former two-weight world champion, Carl
Frampton, Sheffield's Kid Galahad and the Frenchman, Sofiane Takoucht. A fight with fellow 126-pound world
champion, Shakur Stevenson, has been mooted.
5)
Callum Smith – Fight record – (27-0-0
with 19 KOs)
Things have not quite turned out as planned
for ‘Mundo’ since landing the WBA (Super) and Ring magazine super-middleweight
title with a stunning stoppage of George Groves which, like Josh Taylor, also saw
Smith get hold of the Muhammad Ali Trophy at the 168-pound edition of the WBSS
back in September 2018.
Since then, Smith has recorded a TKO victory
over the durable but limited Hassan N’Dam, and, a very contentious points victory
over London’s John Ryder. In fact, prior to the Groves fight, the
Liverpudlian’s defeats of Erik Skoglund and Nieky Holzken, at the quarter-final
and semi-final stages of the WBSS, were also lacklustre performances against
relatively unknown fighters.
Nevertheless, the suggestion has always
been that Smith, would need to fight someone with a reputable name to fully
motivate himself and demonstrate his vaunted skillset. Future dust-ups with one
of the pound-for-pound kings, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, or, a unification fight
with WBO champion, Billy Joe Saunders, should incentivise Mundo.
6)
Billy Joe Saunders – Fight record –
(29-0-0 with 14 KOs)
On his day, Saunders can be described as a
true pugilist specialist. A whirl of hand speed, ring craft, fantastic footwork,
and beautiful balance. This was showcased in the two-weight world champion’s
punch-perfect performance in Canada against the hard-hitting Canadian, David
Lemieux, in front of the latter’s home crowd in the city of Laval, Quebec.
The Lemieux fight took place in December
2017 and Saunders has only fought three times since – picking up the vacant WBO
Super-Middleweight championship and becoming a two-weight champion against
German, Shefat Isufi, in front of his hometown fans in Stevenage in May 2019 in the process.
You feel as though Saunders, who other than Lemieux, also holds respectable wins
over the likes of Chris Eubank Jr, Andy Lee and John Ryder, needs both a
challenging and career-defining fight against someone of the ilk of Gennady
Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez (an agreement was apparently made but cancelled due to
the Coronavirus outbreak), or, the aforementioned domestic duel with Callum
Smith. However, keeping active and staying out of trouble outside the ring (as
his activities earlier on this year suggest), may possibly be Billy Joe’s biggest challenge.
7)
Carl Frampton – Fight record – (27-2-0
with 15 KOs)
Going into 2017 and ahead of a rematch with
four-weight world champion, Leo Santa Cruz, there was arguably a case that Carl
Frampton was Britain’s best fighter pound-for-pound. He had defeated Santa Cruz
in a Fight of the Year contender in July 2016 to win the WBA (Super)
Featherweight championship, thus becoming a two-weight world champion. Prior to
that, Frampton, who was undefeated at the time, had also conquered arch-rival, Scott
Quigg, via split decision to unify the super-bantamweight division in front of
a raucous crowd in Manchester, and also overcame the wily Spaniard, Kiko
Martinez, to win his first world title belt back in September 2014.
Since the Jackal’s razor thin loss
to Santa Cruz in their second fight, the Belfast fighter’s star has waned a
little. Similarly, to Josh Taylor, Frampton decided to part way with the
McGuigan’s following the Santa Cruz rematch. Do not get me wrong, Frampton is
still a world class operator. Backed by an ardent crowd in his hometown, he
outclassed the fading legend Nonito Donaire in April 2018, and followed this up
with a TKO win over Australian, Luke Jackson, four months later. Despite the
mini renaissance, Frampton came up short against Josh Warrington in their clash
for the IBF featherweight strap and it seems as though Frampton has gone off
the boil since. A win over his predicted next opponent, the American WBO junior
lightweight titleholder, Jamel Herring, could get the Frampton bandwagon going
once again.
8)
Dillian Whyte – Fight record – (27-1-0
with 18 KOs)
What more can the Body Snatcher from
Brixton do to get a world-title fight? He has been mandatory challenger for the
WBC Heavyweight belt for over three years now - surely the longest in the
history of the sport. Since his lost to Anthony Joshua in their grudge fight in
December 2015, Whyte has improved immeasurably as a fighter mentally, physically,
and technically. Under the guidance of Mark Tibbs, Whyte has become a student
of the sport and possesses the necessary boxing fundamentals to mix it with the
best in the game. He has an underrated yet piercing jab, an accurate right
hand, crunches shots to the body and has the best left hook in the heavyweight
division.
Furthermore, Whyte has been involved in
various crowd-pleasing fights. His resume is highly impressive and on paper is better
than former world champion, Deontay Wilder. He holds wins over former world
champions Lucas Browne and Joseph Parker, the uncompromising Colombian, Oscar
Rivas, and two victories over former world-title challenger, Dereck Chisora.
Whyte is still expected to fight the experienced former WBA (Regular)
heavyweight holder, Alexander Povetkin, after lockdown. A win over the Russian
and a successful world-title challenge which has been forecasted for February
2021, will surely see Whyte rise the British and world rankings.
9)
Kal Yafai – Fight record – (26-1-0 with
15 KOs)
The least recognised fighter in this list,
in December 2016, Yafai stormed to a wide points victory over Panamanian
fighter, Luis Concepcion, to capture the WBA super-flyweight championship, thus
becoming Birmingham’s first ever world boxing champion. Yafai went on to defend
his belt five times with comfortable, if not, glamorous defences which also
included trips to the United States and Monaco. Yafai eventually lost his belt
to the four-weight world champion and another future Hall of Famer, Roman
‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, as he was stopped in the ninth-round of their contest last
February.
At only 30 years of age, Yafai who has
fought 27 times so far in the professional ranks has time on his side to become
a world champion once again and he is a quality operator. He had a decorated
amateur career representing Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics (along
with future world champions Billy Joe Saunders and James DeGale) and won a
silver medal at the 2010 European Championships as a flyweight. For British
boxing fans, the most intriguing fight we would like to see Yafai in would be a
domestic battle with former WBC flyweight champion, Charlie Edwards.
10) Kell
Brook – Fight record – (39-2-0 with 27 KOs)
Since losing his IBF welterweight belt to Errol Spence in front of his own crowd in Sheffield back in May 2017, Special K has become somewhat of a peripheral figure in British boxing. He only fought twice in 2018 and did not fight at all last year. There was a combination of reasons behind this: injuries (he suffered two fractured eye sockets to each eye in his only two losses to Spence and Gennady Golovkin), lifestyle (Brook usually blows up in weight between fights) and of course the failed pursuit of a grudge match with his old adversary, Amir Khan.
Since losing his IBF welterweight belt to Errol Spence in front of his own crowd in Sheffield back in May 2017, Special K has become somewhat of a peripheral figure in British boxing. He only fought twice in 2018 and did not fight at all last year. There was a combination of reasons behind this: injuries (he suffered two fractured eye sockets to each eye in his only two losses to Spence and Gennady Golovkin), lifestyle (Brook usually blows up in weight between fights) and of course the failed pursuit of a grudge match with his old adversary, Amir Khan.
In February, Brook returned to the ring for
the first time in 14 months, stopping American, Mark DeLuca, and performing
admirably. Brook has acknowledged that in the past, he did not live the right
lifestyle as a professional boxer and acceptance is always a positive sign before improvement. Going forward, Brook would need to decide which weight category he
will choose to fight in, either welterweight or light-middleweight, and that
could determine whether he can climb this ranking or drop out of this list. All his last three fights since losing to Spence have come at the
154-division where an interesting fight with Liverpool’s former WBO champion,
Liam Smith (older brother of Callum), surely awaits. Despite this, Brook’s
great rival Amir Khan suggested in an interview last month with Sky Sport’s Craig
Slater, that if a famous fight were to take place between him and Brook, it
would have to be at 147 pounds. Brook has stated that with his new approach to
life, he can make both weight classes easily. Over to you now Kell.
* This was written before Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury agreed financial terms for a two-fright deal, three days ago
* This was written before Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury agreed financial terms for a two-fright deal, three days ago
