Vote opens to pick greatest all‑British boxing fight ahead of Radio 5 Live debate
BBC Sport has put five all-British fights on a shortlist for fans to decide which contest staged on home soil is the greatest, with a Radio 5 Live discussion scheduled at 19:30 GMT on Wednesday, 11 November to debate the choices.
The list spans rivalries, controversial verdicts and dramatic knockouts and is being presented as the buildup to Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua, which the article notes is just over a month away. Stacey Copeland will be joined on the BBC Radio 5 Live programme by pundit Steve Bunce and commentator Mike Costello to discuss the five fights; readers are invited to vote and the results will be revealed during the broadcast.
The earliest fight on the shortlist saw 21-year-old Joe Bugner defeat 36-year-old Henry Cooper on points after 15 rounds at Wembley's Empire Pool, taking Cooper's British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight titles by what the article describes as a hugely controversial margin of just a quarter of a point. The decision provoked boos from the crowd and BBC commentator Harry Carpenter protested: "How can you take the man's three titles away like that?" Cooper announced his retirement afterwards and the result is still debated.
Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank's first meeting at Birmingham's NEC is included for its ferocity and the start of a defining rivalry; Benn was ahead on two scorecards when Eubank forced a ninth-round stoppage to claim the WBO middleweight title, and their 1993 rematch at Old Trafford ended in a draw. Both fighters have sons who followed them into professional boxing, with Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr continuing the family rivalry in two fights in 2025.
The shortlist also features Lennox Lewis versus Frank Bruno in Cardiff, a fight in which Bruno began strongly and was ahead on one scorecard with the other two level before Lewis turned the contest with a left hook and a flurry of punches in the seventh round. Lewis was defending his WBC heavyweight crown and the victory consolidated his status as world champion; Bruno had to wait another two years to win a world title.
Carl Froch and George Groves' world super-middleweight fight in Manchester is noted for its bitter buildup and controversial ending: Groves scored a first-round knockdown and led on all three cards before Froch rallied, but referee Howard Foster stopped the contest in the ninth round, prompting boos and Groves' insistence that he had been robbed of victory. That controversy set up a rematch at Wembley six months later in front of 80,000 fans, and years after their rivalry they reconciled and toured the country together to reflect on their battles.
The most recent bout on the list saw Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois meet at Manchester's Co-op Live arena for a WBO title contest in which Wardley floored Dubois 10 seconds into the fight and again in the third round. Dubois mounted a comeback, repeatedly hurting a bloodied Wardley before forcing an 11th-round stoppage; promoter Frank Warren described it as the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on. The pair met again five months later, with Dubois winning a more one-sided rematch in the second round; the article notes Wardley is Ipswich-born and a latecomer to professional boxing while Dubois comes from a boxing family that includes his world champion sister Caroline.
The vote closes at 12:00 GMT on 11 November and the shortlisted fights' rankings will be announced during the Radio 5 Live show on Wednesday.