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4 Of The Bravest Title Attempts By A British Challenger Of The Last 30 years

To borrow a line from the lyrics to the British national anthem, “send him victorious” comes to mind when writing this article about the bravest title attempts by a British boxer. Although they do not consistently dominate the world scene, these four examples below that I have written about the bravest attempts for a title  by a British boxer proves that heart and courage comes in abundance within them.

Kevin Lueshing vs Geoff McCreesh

Stockton’s Geoff McCreesh was given very little chance when he challenged Kevin Lueshing for the British welterweight crown on July 19th, 1997. Things looked to be going the champion’s way when Geoff developed a cut around his right eye early in the bout. But his aggressive, come forward fighting style rattled Lueshing who struggled to find a rhythm. Punches were also landing on him during the clinches which also did not help. Eventually, a right hook landed square on the jaw of Kevin who found himself flat on his back in the 10th round! He beat the count but could not defend himself as more blows came reigning down and he was rescued by the referee.

Danny Williams vs Vitali Klitschko

It seemed that beating a faded Mike Tyson served Danny Williams well when he got an opportunity to challenge Vitali Klitschko for his WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas. The Ukrainian ended up doing whatever he wanted with Williams, including scoring four knockdowns. The contest came to a conclusion in the 8th round. But nobody can say that Danny did not try his best that night on December 11th, 2004.

Dennis Andries vs Thomas Hearns

March 7th, 1987 was the date when Dennis Andries faced Thomas Hearns for the WBC light-heavyweight title. Andries did not have much to lose by going to America to face a modern boxing legend, so he came out swinging from the opening bell. Unfortunately for him, Hearns was able to land his right hand quite regularly and eventually managed to put Andries down a total of seven times with four being in the 6th round. The final knockdown came in the 10th and the referee waved it off after Andries looked unsteady on his feet.

Jamie Moore vs Matthew Macklin

Jamie Moore vs Matthew Macklin has gone down as one of Britain’s greatest ever battles seen in a boxing ring! Macklin was bidding for the British light-middleweight title. The two gladiators went toe to toe for all of the 10 rounds it had lasted and both guys looked visibly hurt throughout the fight. By the time the 9th round ended it was anybody’s guess as to who would come out on top. But a two punch combination to the head of Macklin from Moore sent the challenger crashing down flat on his face and he did not make the count. Macklin would not face Moore again. But the fight was voted as 2006 Fight of the Year by a number of different renowned boxing magazines.