Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte to David Haye and Derek Chisora – the 12 biggest rivalries in British boxing with Leigh Wood set to face Josh Warring
06/10/2023 09:33
Josh Warrington's challenge of Leigh Wood sees two of Britain's best ever featherweights face off – but how will it compare to UK boxing's most heated, hate-fuelled rivalries?
While Wood vs Warrington is a top quality fight, it might not have the grudge match quality of these dirty dozen feuds, which all had a highly personal edge to them.
Only one dealbreaker in our top 12: there's no Ricky Hatton-Junior Witter, Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury or any other pair who haven't actually fought. Each of these fierce rivals traded blows in the ring – and sometimes at press conferences, in car parks or in a filthy ditch outside a posh hotel.
12. Kell Brook and Amir Khan
Would be far higher if the fight hadn't been so one-sided, because the hatred was real. These two welterweights disliked one another intensely: 'Special K' thought Olympic ace Khan had a superiority complex, while 'King Khan' believes Brook envied his fame.
The pre-fight insults went way below the belt, but when they belatedly fought in 2022 Brook clearly had a lot more left in the tank as he put a six-round pasting on his rival. The weirdest outcome of all, however, is that the two now seem to be good pals.
11. Tony Bellew and Nathan Cleverly
Bellew's lucrative dislike of David Haye was a bit panto when compared to his bitter feelings towards fellow light-heavyweight Cleverly: the unassuming maths graduate who Tony wanted to make hear the 10 count.
Wales' Cleverly narrowly won the first fight on points but was called a 'lying scumbag' by Bellew for his post-fight excuses. The Liverpudlian got revenge in the rematch but the lack of sizzling action meant a decider never happened. Go figure.
10. Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte
Whyte brought an amateur win and a skill in needling Britain's golden boy to this heavyweight showdown at the O2 Arena in 2015. The underdog labelled AJ a ‘skinny bodybuilder’ (bit of a weird analogy), while Joshua had pal Stormzy perform 'Shut Up' during his ring entrance.
The fight was a cracker, AJ hurting Whyte early, getting rocked himself by a left hook, then producing a spectacular KO. An August 2023 rematch was set to happen in the same venue, until Whyte's 'adverse analytical findings' in a doping test caused a last-minute cancellation.
9. Joe Calzaghe and Robin Reid
Part-time model Reid vs clean-cut Calzaghe was built on a row we can all relate to: who's the most handsome? But behind the playboy hype to their 1999 fight, a real animosity grew.
Calzaghe's cockiness riled the talented but usually placid Reid to the point where he was shouting into Sky's TV cameras during his ring entrance. The result: a razor thin split-decision win for 'Super Joe' – nobody came closer than Reid to beating this all-time great at 168lbs.
8. Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith
Eubank Jr claimed he only needed to be at 60 per cent to beat former 154lbs world champion Smith in January 2023. But the grey-haired gladiator made him eat his words with a shocking fourth-round stoppage of the thought-to-be iron chinned Eubank.
But their September rematch saw a 100 per cent turnaround. Smith, who'd endured a tough weight cut, was outclassed by a sharper Eubank who pummelled him into a 10th-round KO. Respect was actually earned by both this time. Will we see a fight three?
7. Herbie Hide and Michael Bentt
A Nigeria-born Brit and a London-born American, but we're definitely claiming this heavyweight feud. Before their 1994 fight, Bentt and Hide's photo op at a fancy London hotel ended with the pair wrestling in a puddle on live TV.
"I tore my suit, he grabbed me, I fell on my knees, he punched me. It was an ugly mess," Bentt recalled. The short-tempered Mr Hide won the fight at Millwall's Den by KO, Bentt suffering injuries that ended his boxing career (though thankfully he fully recovered).
6. David Haye and Derek Chisora
Haye interrupted Chisora's post-fight presser in 2012 to challenge Vitali Klitschko but instead got Del Boy up in his grill, so retaliated by detonating a right hand (holding a half-drunk bottle) onto Chisora's chin. ‘He glassed me!’ cried Derek.
The Hayemaker fled Germany, and their eventual in-ring showdown was sanctioned by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation as the BBBofC wouldn’t touch it. Haye won by (bottle-free) KO, then in a plot twist worthy of a Rocky film, later ended up managing Chisora.
5. George Groves and James DeGale
No rivalry cuts deeper than one that starts as kids. These two Dale Youth products had to train at different times as they hated the sight of one another. Groves edged their only amateur contest but DeGale made the Olympic team, winning gold in 2008.
The build-up to their early-career fight bristled with ugly insults and the fallout – after Groves won a decision that could have gone either way – was no better. Probably still have to schedule their Tesco trips to avoid one another to this day.
4. Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno
For two mild-mannered gents, there was a nasty edge to Britain's beloved 'Big Frank' facing London-born – but with a stint in Canada – Lewis in 1993. It crystallised in one phrase: 'Uncle Tom'. Lewis insisted he didn't say it, but Bruno was sure it came from the champion's camp.
Their 3am fight in a rainy Cardiff Arms Park saw Bruno make a strong start until Lewis caught him with a wild left hook then finished the job. Years later, after Bruno beat Oliver McCall for his world title, he wept post-fight: "I'm not an Uncle Tom. I'm not a sell-out."
3. Mark Kaylor and Errol Christie
Only a 1985 British middleweight title eliminator but the most toxic fight on this list. Christie claimed Kaylor used a racist slur at a press event and the pair brawled. The end result: hefty fines, police surrounding the ring and simmering tension at Wembley Arena (Cass Pennant, an infamous West Ham hooligan, was reportedly hired to keep the peace).
The fight was a barnburner that saw both men down in the opening round, Kaylor floored again in the third, but Christie overwhelmed in the eighth. Unfortunately that's only half the tale.
2. Carl Froch and George Groves
Groves got inside Froch's head, then dented his granite chin in their 2013 fight, dumping the champion onto the canvas in round one. Howard Foster's controversial round-nine stoppage eventually took away Groves' chance of finishing the upset but perfectly set up a rematch.
The bad blood continued but this time Froch got mentally prepared, almost handshaked Groves' arm off, then scored a brutal KO to cap off his career in front of what we're reliably informed was 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium.
1. Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn
Blue-collar, ex-army, working-class icon Benn was never going to like the preening, monocle-wearing Eubank who called boxing ‘a mug's game’.
The hate was so raw that Benn couldn't even look at Eubank when they signed their contracts for their 1990 world title fight on live TV. It lived up to the hype, a fiery war with both men hurt but Eubank victorious by ninth-round KO.
The 1993 rematch, 'Judgement Day' at Old Trafford – watched by over 18 million people on ITV – was even closer: a draw declared after a rousing 12th round. Unbelievably, relations have thawed between 'Simply the Best' and 'The Dark Destroyer' in retirement. But if their sons do, eventually, meet in the ring – be warned: the peace will not last.
