There was a time when the British heavyweight title was a big deal, a time when the man holding the belt was pretty much a household name on these shores.
In easily his worst performance of his career, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) edged former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (0-1), winning a 10 round split decision in their crossover fight on Saturday night at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In the best fight of the night (so far in Riyadh, the main event still to come) Fabio Wardley retained his British heavyweight title and also won the vacant Commonwealth belt, this with a seventh round stoppage win over David Adeleye.
The weights are in: Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou have taken to the scales in Saudi Arabia and, as expected, both giants came in at a hefty poundage.
That all-British showdown between Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye was everything we hoped for and more. Wardley, with his undefeated record, was looking to make a statement, and boy did he!
As fight fans know, British heavyweight rivals – see bad blood, brawling outside the ring rivals – Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye will clash on the Fury-Ngannou card in Saudi Arabia later this month.
Unbeaten British heavyweight contender Frazer Clarke says he will absolutely, “no excuses” fight the winner of the upcoming clash between reigning British heavyweight champ Fabio Wardley and fellow unbeaten David Adeleye.
Another boxing presser another brawl. Today in London, at the first of what will be a few press conferences to hype the October clash between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, two of the under-card guys got into it.
Fight fans who were looking forward to seeing the battle of unbeaten heavyweights, Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley, this for the prestigious British heavyweight title, have been left hugely disappointed.
There was a time when the British heavyweight title meant a whole lot, when the man on the street knew who the reigning British heavyweight champion was.