Greatest British Boxer.?

Ted Kid Lewis, Owen Moran or Jack Kid Berg

I would lean towards Moran or Berg as having the best stand out win, maybe Berg (Canzoneri or Chocolate). Crossing the ocean to take out Battling Nelson is no mean feat though

 

Lennox Lewis made the mistake of not fighting Riddick Bowe sadly.

 

Jim Driscoll was unchallenged as the best pure boxer by Britishers themselves well up into the 1920s. I don't know when or if he has been surpassed since. His four books on boxing, all of which I have read at one time or another since they are in my book collection, still make for good reading.

 

Hi thistle.
Excellent call on Harvey, why is he so overlooked ? in the early 70s a pub near me in Islington had its name changed from the White Horse to the Champion in honour of Len Harvey, and for the opening day the great man himself turned up, he was quite frail and would pass a few years later, after the initial flurry of boxing fans wanting to chat to him died down, I chose my moment and sided up to him, and asked if he could spare me some time for a quick chat, certainly young man came his softly spoken reply, in no particular order , we spoke about the fighters that he rated and impressed him the most, there were lots, but Dundee came out on top, he said Vince was the toughest, hardest man he ever fought, even above Jack Casey, in their first fight Dundee gave him the worst body beating of his whole career, in return he said Vince was impervious to punishment, he said, time and again he would land his hardest punches , but all to no avail, for a week after the first fight, he was housebound, and had a warm salty bath every day to try and elevate the soreness from the body assault, he also had high praise for Thil, and was thwarted from his usual format of gripping his opponents forearms and squeezing as hard as he could ( he told Turpin to do as such to Robinson ) because the Frenchman had a trick up his sleeve, he coated his entire upper torso with a wax like substance that rendered Harveys tactic as null and void, Harvey gave a wry nod of his head when telling me this, even as an old man his handshake and grip were hard and purrpussfull, he was suited and booted, and looked very dapper I must say , I could have spoken for hours, but the excursions of the long day were catching up with this grand old fighter, the only thing he said he would liked to have changed was his weight, he would liked to have been a stone or more heavier, all in all, one of my most treasured moments, in 50 years or so of meeting my heroes, they don't make them like him anymore.
stay safe buddy, chat soon.
Mike.

 

Hi Mike, what a fantastic encounter, yes, Why Harvey?

well aside from a World Title the man could do No More, a British Champion in 4 Weights WW, MW, L-HW and HW, WOW what more can a fighter do. Also the Era he fought in, the British title was really only 2cd to the World title and though the average Brits & Euro fighters generally speaking were 2cd tier to the Yanks, that wasn't true of many of the Top Men, which is easily validated not simply by those who won a World Title, but also those that got the chance and competed excellent win or lose - the Best Example being Robert Villemain, the little 5'6" WW cum MW, he was world championship material all day long, as many others were - further point being Villemain vs Boon, Fight of the Year 1947, Boon an end of the line blown up LW...

the BBBofC wouldn't approve of that Old Contender Glen Moody vs Freddie Mills, Moody, brother of Frank and every inch a L-HW at 5'10" but no approval from the Board, now do you think they would have sanctioned Villemain against any of the TOP UK Middles, not in your life, yet Villemain - "the Proof Fighter" as I call him danced a great dance with ALL the TOP Americans & World Champion Middles, the point being the Euro & UK TOP Boys were there, despite what lack of opportunity or National Bias or worse corrupt exploitation afforded some.

Anyway back to HARVEY, Len stating he wished he was a Bigger Heavier Man also throughs light on the sentiments, needs & expectations of the times - the Top Fighters fought UP, especially in the UK, the whole push & drive for Big Boy Titles was a desperate need & bane of British Boxing - the Home of Boxing as we know it, yet the Top Prize always evaded them...

Now Harvey was/finished a HW and Height & Weight wise then he was, unlike the Taller & Heavier HWs that came much later, but Len's 'true' weight was L-HW and I believe whole heartedly if Harvey could have based himself in the States even for just a year, a few more dances with the American L-HWs and another dance with JHL, Mr. Len (British Boxing) Harvey would certainly have wore that Crown among the Bigmen.

Again what more could a fighter do, with dozens of Top Capable Men and Champions on his resume' in so many Divisions, well for this man's money...

Len Harvey IS Britain's Greatest Ever Fighter!

 

His books are they tomes of technique or about his career etc? Either way I’m going to purchase them. “Bronze Age” old timers could really express there ideas…@greynotsoold i believe it was you? Who said that, that was the case because most did exhibitions or demonstrations on the side, so they had to be capable of communicating boxing for business sake. I even learnt things from Carpentier KK that I didn’t find at the gym as a novice, just basic things I didn’t think of.

 

Joe Calzaghe was the best British boxer of all time.

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For me; Ken Buchanan all day long.

 

Uh, sure. LENNY made that mistake.

 

Many consider it Duran’s second best win ever. While considering Duran thee best ever.

 

They are all books about technique.