Filed under: Boxing
It's all quiet on the boxing front at the moment - the perfect time to sit back and assess the past year in the fight game. Here we name the men we rate as the United Kingdom's top ten, boxers who are equipped to take on the best in the world.1. Amir Khan - Light-welterweight, Bolton (26 wins-1 defeat, 18KOs):
The boy from Bolton has had a turbulent year but nobody can take his success away from him in the ring. A win over Marcos Maidana in what was regarded as the 2010 Fight of the Year to defend his WBA title was followed up with an less-than-satisfactory victory over Paul McCloskey in April. However, Khan erased memories of that with an emphatic fifth-round stoppage of Zab Judah to claim the IBF strap and shoot to the top of our rankings.
2. Carl Froch - Super-middleweight, Nottingham (28-1, 20KOs):
The Cobra is looking forward to a massive meeting with Andre Ward in the final of the Super Six Boxing Classic in October where his WBC title and the American's WBA strap will be on the line. Should Froch win, he will probably overtake Khan as the best British fighter but, for now at least, the Nottingham man will be more than content with a season that saw him overcome experienced fighters in Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson.
3. David Haye - Heavyweight, London (25-2, 23KOs):
Despite being totally embarrassed by Wladimir Klitschko on the biggest night of his career, Haye remains high up on the list of the best British fighters due to his achievements in the cruiserweight division where he dominated before moving up to claim a major heavyweight crown. The Londoner has since relinquished that title and may soon retire, but for now he holds third spot.
4. Ricky Burns - Super-featherweight, Coatbridge (32 -2, 9KOS):
The unassuming Scot often gets overlooked in these type of rankings but he has now successfully defended his WBO title three times - a noteworthy achievement. Burns's last defence may have been controversial with a strange injury to challenger Nicky Cook bringing an early end to the contest, but the 28-year-old is being lined up for a bout with well-known American Adrien Broner this year. A win there and Burns will finally be a household name.
5. Nathan Cleverly - Light-heavyweight, Cefn Forest (22-0, 11KOs):
The Welshmen will always remember this year as being the one in which he claimed his first world title after Juergen Braehmer failed to arrive in the UK for a defence of his WBO title and was rightly stripped of the belt. Cleverly claimed it without throwing a punch but the 24-year-old had won the right to be challenging for the belt, so there was no doubting he deserved his crown. A big season awaits for the Welshman and while talk of meeting Bernard Hopkins is premature, there are some big fights out there for him.
6. Matthew Macklin - Middleweight, Birmingham (28-3, 19KOs):
This season the Birmingham boxer claimed the European title for the second time and made a solid defence. However, it will be Macklin's world title challenge that will be etched in everyone's memories. The 29-year-old travelled to Germany to take on home favourite Felix Sturm and despite the odds being stacked against him, Macklin looked to have done enough to take a famous win. However, the ringside judges somehow saw different and handed the win to Sturm to a chorus of boos from all the supporters in the arena. Sturm has offered Macklin a rematch, but there's talk of the Birmingham boxer facing Sergio Martinez instead.
7. Darren Barker - Middleweight, Barnet (23-0, 14KOs):
The Barnet boxer could soon shoot up these rankings should he pull off a massive upset and dethrone middleweight king Sergio Martinez of his WBC crown in October. It will be Barker's first world title challenge and the 29-year-old deserves it. Barker has had a turbulent personal life and suffered numerous injuries but he became European champion this year. This coming season could be defining.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/17/boxing-clever-amir-khan-heads-our-list-of-britains-top-ten-fig/
Charley Hoffman Clarence Seedorf Cristiano Ronaldo Daniel Alves Daniele De Rossi
No comments:
Post a Comment