By James P Sexton: The UK has always had a player on the world stage at one weight or another. Today there are promising prospects and current champions which hail from the UK at numerous weights, often with several top talents in each weight class sparking many grudge matches and domestic bouts. Here is my personal opinion on an all British pound for pound list.
1. Carl Froch – This man has been the face of British boxing for a short while now, having had twelve consecutive World Title fights at super middleweight after a long run as British and Commonwealth champion. His resume reads like a whos who of super middleweight over the last few years and he might not be done yet. Hopefully the Las Vegas finally can be organized even if Chavez isn’t selected.
2. Kell Brook – The undefeated Sheffield man who holds a share of the title at 147. He has ups and downs in his career, but so far has always come out on top. It would be interesting to see how he fares back after his injury.
3. Tyson Fury – Another undefeated entry. This man is the mandatory challenger to Wladimir Klitschkos title and is risking that fight by taking an optional fight against Christian Hammer in February. It is refreshing to see a man going out there and keeping active. You would have to believe that in the sport today many men would simply sit back and wait it out until they got their title shot. Its a good sign that Fury is looking to stay in shape by taking on a top fifteen rated opponent optionally before his title fight.
4. Amir Khan – Another long serving face of boxing in the UK. a former world champion, this man really has had his share of ups and downs. Three losses, two by brutal KO, and yet he is on a string of victories and looking for the biggest fights in the sport at this point. This year could be an interesting one for the man named ‘King.’
5. James DeGale – DeGale suffered a loss to George Groves back in 2011 by a controversial mixed decision. Since then he has built his way back to the top, but is still really seen as the forgotten man in the UK 168lb picture. However he has had 6 fights in the last two years and has signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sports which he seemed very happy about. Out of those six victories he has stopped five of the opponents including the durable Marco Antonio Periban who had not been stopped before, as well as previously unbeaten contenders Brandon Gonzalez and Gevorg Khatchikian.
6. Carl Frampton – An undefeated champion who could really beat anyone in his division not named Rigondeaux. He has had some fantastic fights in the last few years, particularly the two against fellow super bantamweight fighter Kiko Martinez.
7. Scott Quigg – One of the other top 5 super bantamweights. A fight between Frampton and Quigg has been discussed before and it will probably happen at some point, but for now the 30 – 0 (22KO) fighter should just look for meaningful fights in his division.
8. Martin Murray – A man with only one loss, a very close decision to then middleweight kingpin Sergio Martinez. His next match is against the beast Golovkin so you can only really speculate about what his chances are after witnessing such a destructive streak of knockouts which the Kazakh destroyer is currently on.
9. George Groves – The setback which was two consecutive knockout losses to countryman Carl Froch may have had an effect on the mentality of this fighter, as he hasn’t looked the same since, however we will have to see how he performs in the new year as his promoters seem to be looking to put him back at the highest level as soon as possible.
10. Billy Joe Saunders – currently on 21 – 0 – 0 with his last four opponents being undefeated. He is now the British, Commonwealth and European champion at middleweight, and is well on his way to establishing himself as a world player.
Notable omissions include:
Anthony Joshua – whilst he has shown great promise in acquiring an Olympic gold medal and has made a promising start in the Olympic ranks, I think he is a little green to be included on this list. Probably a few more bouts before he will break through.
Ricky Burns – A strong former champion who has two losses in his last three fights. He did win his last bout which could suggest he might be able to make another title challenge before he hangs them up.
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