5 of the Greatest all-British Heavyweight fights

British heavyweight boxing continues to boom as Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois prepare to collide for the vacant IBF title at Wembley Stadium on September 1st.

The bout marks the latest instalment of Brits colliding in the sport’s glamour division as the winner looks to tie down a shot at unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in the near future.

We take a look at some of the most iconic clashes between British heavyweights ahead of the bout in the English capital.

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Henry Cooper vs Joe Bugner (1971)

The British, Commonwealth and European titles were a mere footnote when Britain’s hero Henry Cooper collided with Joe Bugner at the Empire Pool Wembley.

In what turned out to be Cooper’s final fight, it was Bugner’s hand which was raised after 15 rounds in the English capital.

The contest captured the attention of the entire nation and still divides opinion to this day as to whether the right man won on the night.

Cooper himself refused to forgive referee Harry Gibbs, the referee who awarded the Hungarian-born Bugner the bout, believing he had done enough to secure victory in his final professional outing.

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Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno (1993)

The first ever all-British heavyweight world title fight saw WBC champion Lennox Lewis collide with countryman Frank Bruno in the ‘Battle of Britain’.

Lewis was awarded the title after former hold Riddick Bowe vacated and made his first defence with a dominant showing over Tony Tucker.

Meanwhile, Bruno had already fought and lost twice for world honours ahead of the bout in Wales.

Stoppage defeats to Tim Witherspoon and Mike Tyson had seen him come up short but the challenger still headed into the bout the more popular figure on UK soil.

Lewis won over his critics against his countryman though, whom he broke down and eventually stopped inside seven rounds at the National Stadium in Cardiff.

The result brought an end to a hostile build-up between the pair, where Lewis had branded Bruno an ‘Uncle Tom’ after the latter accused the champion of not being ‘British enough’ following his representation of Canada at the 1988 Olympics.

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David Haye vs Derek Chisora (2012)

One of the more volatile meetings between British heavyweights began at a post-fight press conference in Munich.

Following Derek Chisora‘s unanimous decision loss to Vitali Klitschko, the former engaged in a physical spat with fellow Brit David Haye.

A brawl, which saw Haye punch his adversary while holding a glass bottle, saw a potential bout on UK soil prohibited by the British Boxing Board of Control.

However, courtesy of sanctioning by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation, the fight was allowed to take place at the home of West Ham United.

Haye landed the first blow in Germany and then the last in East London, where he won inside five rounds to bounce back from his own loss to Klitschko five months earlier.

Remarkably, they would later settle their differences and Haye was announced as Chisora’s manager back in 2018.

The pair have since split but remain on good terms.

Haye (right) would eventually manage Chisora (left) six years on from their clash in London. Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.

Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte (2015)

Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte renewed their amateur rivalry for the vacant British Heavyweight title at the O2 Arena.

A heated build-up was followed by hostile exchanges in the ring, with security having to separate the pair after a coming together at the end of the opening round.

Whyte wobbled Joshua with a left hook in the second but the latter weathered the storm before securing a seventh-round knockout win, courtesy of a thudding right uppercut.

The pair were set to meet in a rematch in August 2023 before the fight was scrapped after Whyte failed an anti-doping test.

Joshua instead met Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius, who he also stopped inside seven rounds in the English capital.

YouTube player — *Watch Joshua’s full clash with Whyte on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.*

Dillian Whyte vs Derek Chisora 1 (2016)

The build-up to Dillian Whyte‘s first encounter with Derek Chisora was as volatile as it was entertaining.

If throwing water in Whyte’s direction during their ‘Gloves Are Off’ sit-down wasn’t enough, Chisora opted to turn up the heat further by launching a table towards his rival at the fight week press conference.

The events threatened to prevent the bout from taking place at all but when the pair were given the green light by the British Boxing Board of Control, pressure was on for the fight to deliver after an attention-grabbing build-up.

Thankfully fans got exactly what they were asking for, and more.

A frenetic back-and-forth affair left opinion split as to whose hand should be raised after the 12 rounds in Manchester but it was Whyte who got the nod via split-decision.

The pair would meet again two years later in another entertaining affair which ended with a Whyte knockout after 11 rounds at the O2 Arena in London.