Great British Rivalries. 

As Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn emerge from the darkness and drills of their respective training camps and into the dwindling light of boxing’s gaze, their shared animosity, whether real or contrived, is a reminder of the many great rivalries that have been woven into the tapestry of British boxing history.  

The dynastic element of their story is perhaps a unique one and helps to elevate their place in the folklore of the sport beyond the sum of their respective abilities.  Nevertheless, rivalries like the one the families of Benn and Eubank have shared since 1990, when Nigel and Chris first fought, is a rich thread on which to pull and a cascade of memories from across the decades of rematches and trilogies shared quickly tumbles in to view. 

Carl Froch v George Groves 1 & 2 

Super Middleweight 

In terms of scale, the 2014 rematch between Carl Froch, the IBF Champion, and George Groves at Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000 punters is difficult to top.  

Their first fight was booked as a routine defence for Nottingham’s Cobra. A ferocious competitor, Froch was a formidable fighter at his best and was only a fight or two beyond that peak when he first encountered Groves. Floored in the first round by a huge right hand and behind on all three cards, Froch was in danger of losing his belt, but a powerful counterattack led to Groves being stopped by Howard Foster in the 9th round to huge protest from the challenger.  

True, he had been struck still by a Froch punch, but the intervention was premature, and the controversy engulfed the pair and was sustained throughout the media for days, even to Eddie Hearn’s disbelief, the demand for tickets for the hastily arranged rematched filled the Wembley venue six months later. 

Froch would this time destroy Groves with a thunderous and perfectly timed right hand which left Groves buckled and twisted on the canvas like a broken gate after a storm. Froch retired on the high. Wealthy and intact. Groves would eventually win the world-title at the third attempt before his own retirement, and the pair now consider themselves friends. 

Alan Minter v Kevin Finnegan 1, 2 & 3

Middleweight 

There are many boxers from the seventies who have fallen from the conversation about great British fighters and their contests are too often forgotten too.  

Alan Minter’s three bouts with Kevin Finnegan in the mid-70s, all of which were 15 round contests that went the distance were hard, hard nights for both men. The first was on November 4th, 1975, at the Empire Pool, Wembley the rematch the following September at the Albert Hall and the last of their trilogy November 1977, back at the Empire Pool, which would be renamed Wembley Arena two months later.  

Historians will find a pairing that shared more rounds, but at a high level, contesting the British, Commonwealth and European titles in the process, it is difficult to summon a comparative pairing who boxed so many rounds within two years. Two points separated them over the trilogy. 

Minter would take the decisions in all three, the second the most contentious, and convert those victories into a world-title shot, beating Vito Antuofermo twice, to win and defend the WBC belt, before his infamous scrap with Marvin Hagler in 1980. Finnegan would get two cracks at Hagler in 1978 following that third loss to Minter. He was cut to ribbons at the Boston Garden in March, but competitive, and lost again in the May at the same venue. 

Johnny Armour v Francis Ampofo 1, 2 & 3 

Bantamweight 

Neither of these two men could claim the accomplishments or notoriety of Froch, or Benn or Minter, but they too were locked in heated battle three times in a two year period and the margins between them incredibly narrow. The modesty of the venues; Elephant and Castle Centre and Goresbrook Leisure Centre among them, reflecting the low-rent World Boxing Union belt they were contesting. Crowds were humble but loud and boisterous. This writer was present at ringside for two of their three fights.

Back in the late 90s and into the new century, the WBU, WBF and even IBA, IBU would be welcomed on prime-time Saturday nights – affording the emerging SKY Sports with a facsimile of real-world title fights to sell to their subscribers. 

These ‘World title’ fights were, in truth, British title bouts masquerading as something else. Armour one of many who benefitted from their adoption. Across the three fights Armour was always trying to preserve distance, using his footwork to maintain control but invariably the diminutive Ampofo would draw the Kent man into a close quarters battle of will. It made for absorbing action.  

The most controversial of the three was the second bout. One judge recorded an Armour 116-112 victory alongside the two 114-114 scores of his fellow judges, this would’ve heralded a Majority Draw from most sanctioning bodies but the WBU, in their eternal absurdity, made Armour the winner. 

Ampofo did fight for a world title versus Baby Jake Matlala in 1994 and lose, but retired after the three consecutive losses to Armour, who would never fly quite as high as the man he vanquished three times.