but really who has achieved what he has at Middleweight? he is by far the greatest Brit boxer ever. Dethrones the great NP Jack Dempsey making him retire in 13. NP Dempsey was regarded till about the 50s as one of the greatest Middleweights ever. That was in 1891. He then got a second round KO over Don Creedon a top contender of the day, after he had moved up to Heavyweight. As Champion he pretty much cleaned out the division in non-title buts or over the weight bouts. As well as simeltaneouly campaigning as a Heavyweight and cleaning out that division on the way to the title. Actually upon thinking about it Fitzsimmons might not have the depth to be the number 1 middleweight in fact he dosent but he is definitly top 10.
I thought I would throw up a list to get us started - I am prepared for some verbal assaults Just a mock up for now, am still researching about certain fighters. 1. Randolph Turpin 2. Alan Minter 3. Bob fitzsimmons 4. George Gardner 5. Chris Eubank 6. Herol Graham 7. Nigel Benn 8. Terry Downes 9. Tony Sibson 10. Chris Pyatt Just missed out: Watson, Collins, Ahearn, McCormack, Eastman, Sterling, Finnegan, Woodhall, McAteer, Johnson. Hardest list to do so far without a doubt.
naw a bad list to be afir to poshmeister i just want to dispute Randy being tops also what about maybe Bert Gilroy
I don't think Fitzsimmons stayed at the weight long? And I don't know if Turpin did a lot beyond the name win over SRR. I thought Chris Eubank beat Michael Watson clearly, and beat Benn. So he'd be up there. Herol Graham had good wins over Lindell Holmes and Sanderline Williams in their primes, highly useful young Yanks, and beat Ayub Kalule a lot more convincingly than Sugar Ray Leonard had... and so many other good wins like Mark Kaylor, James Cook, Rod Douglas etc and was robbed blind in the return with Kalambay in Italy. Ultimately he didn't win the world title, though. He just didn't have 'it'. I think Graham was the most difficult to fight of all middleweights, even outside of Britain!
He made 1 defence i went through it earlier in the thread, although he did beat NP Jack Dempsey which is a very very good win and then basically dominated the division. But only made 1 defence and was regulary fighting as a Heavyweight. either do i, he has solid European level (probably about the same as a Big Four Title Holder now) wins definitly but only really has Robinson at world class level but what a name to have. Good shouts in there though
no he was coming to the end of a busy European tour that had alot of fights, he might have been enjoying some extra curricular activities but he was knackered from the schedule of fights
I see that Benn, Collins, Watson, Eubank are mentioned... Henry Wharton was around at the wrong time...I think that he would have been a World Champ...even Eubank said if he would have been more technically minded he would have beaten him...:yep
I completly forgot about this 1. Turpin 2. Minter 3. Downs 4. Gardner 5. Fitzsimmons 6. Eubank 7. Graham 8. Sibson 9. Benn 10. Pyatt