With England's Fabio Wardley taking to the "big stage" against interim WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker Saturday night we reflect on several other Brits, who fought in less remembered title battles.
As Fabio Wardley prepares for the weekend and his fight with New Zealand’s smiling bomber, Joseph Parker, he becomes the latest British puncher to challenge for a version of the world title. His, like many others, is a tale of the unexpected given the Ipswich man had no Amateur fights and started his pugilistic life on the ‘White-Collar’ circuit.
History fondly remembers the great British heavyweights of course; Lennox Lewis, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury – all ultimately successful on the world stage – chief among them. Henry Cooper, famous for his brave but doomed challenges to Muhammad Ali, is still revered, along with the eternally popular Frank Bruno who won the title at the third attempt.
But there are British heavyweights who challenged for versions of the world title, the memory of which often remains trapped in the pages of time.
Bruce Woodcock v Lou Savold –
June 6th 1950, White City Stadium, London
Doncaster’s capable Bruce Woodcock was ranked as high as #3 by Ring Magazine during his career but when he was matched against American Lou Savold by British promoter Jack Solomons it still represented a speculative fixture. Not least because the battle was billed as a World Title fight as recognised in Britain and Europe in the aftermath of Joe Louis’ retirement. Solomons was an opportunist and snatched at the chance to claim the World Heavyweight title, the date of this fight frustratingly delayed from September ‘49 due to injuries to Woodcock. In truth, the victor would never truly claim to be World Champion as Ezzard Charles’ win over Jersey Joe Walcott in 1949 had been accepted as the fight to anoint Louis’ successor.
Savold won in the 4th, an horrendous cut over Woodcock’s troublesome left eye bringing the fight to a premature conclusion. 50,000 were drawn to the venue. Woodcock was a phenomenal ticket seller at his peak which may help explain how he remained licenced given the loss of vision in his left eye following a drubbing from Pennsylvanian Joe Baski three years earlier. Any claim Savold had to a portion of the title was extinguished a year later when the returning Joe Louis beat him in 6 rounds. Woodcock boxed just once more before retiring.
Brian London v Muhammad Ali
August 15th, 1966, Earls Court, London
In the summer of 1966, England, still exuberant from winning the football World Cup a few weeks earlier, hosted a fight between the greatest of all time Muhammad Ali and their own Blackpool Rock, Brian London.
Ali was installed as a 15/1 favourite and on the evidence of their respective careers and physicality, those odds were probably narrower than reality. London was blitzed in three rounds and would later say, “I got myself in a position to fight him, but I was nowhere near good enough to fight with him!”. Ali took this fight as he raced to accumulate paydays and had beaten Henry Cooper in the 6th round in his previous fight. London, by contrast, had lost three times to Cooper over his career and dropped a decision to the unheralded Thad Spencer just three months earlier.
Matt Skelton v Ruslan Chagaev
19th January 2008, Dusseldorf
When the Bedford Bear, Matt Skelton, travelled to Germany to face Ruslan Chagaev for the WBA Heavyweight title – he did so with little fanfare and a sense he had already hugely overachieved in a career that began in his mid-thirties. Chagaev was technically vastly superior and a capable operator at his best. Skelton had excelled in Kick Boxing before belatedly turning to boxing with promoter Frank Maloney with ambiguity about Skelton’s age swirling in the background
His walk forward, simplistic, brawling and mauling style had proved more than the British domestic scene could handle – victories over Michael Sprott and Danny Williams had secured him the shot. Chagaev had no such difficulties, and counter punched his way to a comfortable points victory.
Skelton won the European title in his next fight and would box on for a further six years, a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua bringing down the curtain on an unlikely career in 2014. He was 47.
Hughie Fury v Joseph Parker
23rd September 2017, MEN Arena, Manchester
As a cousin of Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury has enjoyed the pros and cons of his surname throughout a career blighted by medical issues and periods of inactivity. Back in 2017, he still had the opportunities and novelty of youth, aged just 23 and was respected for his hand speed and movement. His promoter Mick Hennessy was vocal on his potential and Dad Peter Fury firmly believed he was a world champion in waiting.
His fight with Parker demonstrated that Hughie could frustrate and neutralise a good champion but also that he lacked the self-belief to let his hands go.
Parker won their bout by a Split Decision, one judge saw a draw, the other two a wide 118-110 Parker win. Rewarding Parker’s attempts to make the fight with a cautious challenger. The outcome, in truth, could have gone either way. Promoter Hennessey was furious after decision and talked of corruption and Fury’s performance containing “shades of Ali!”.
Fury, now 31, is in the midst of another low key rebuild.
Parker, meanwhile, must repel another unlikely challenger on Saturday night.