Froch On Where Daniel Dubois Would Rank Amongst The Greatest British Heavyweights Should He Defeat Oleksandr Usyk: “Maybe Number Two”
If you were to try and compile a list, say a top 5, of the greatest all-time British heavyweights, you would in all likelihood have Lennox Lewis in pole position at the top of your list. But who would you rank second, and third, and fourth, and so on…..?
British great, Hall of Famer Carl Froch was asked this question this week, with the stipulation being that he would compile his list with Daniel Dubois having beaten Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night, this in their massive four-belt unification clash.
Dubois might actually pull it off, and assuming he does, Froch provided his list. And it makes for interesting reading.
What Defines the Elite of British Heavyweights?
Here’s what Froch said when speaking with SPORTbible:
“You’d have to put him right up there,” Froch said of Dubois and his ranking amongst the greatest-ever British big men should he beat Usyk. “You’ve got Lennox Lewis at number 1, then the likes of Tyson Fury, maybe AJ in there. Frank Bruno, Joe Bugner, Herbie Hide, Henry Cooper. You’ve got to go back years, so if you’re looking at what you consider to be the top British heavyweights in the last couple of generations, you’d put Lewis at 1, Fury at 2, and then you’d have AJ around the number 3 mark. If Dubois beats Usyk, after what Usyk did to both Fury and AJ, you can make an argument for Dubois going in at number 2 ahead of Fury.”
As with all lists of this kind, it’s down to opinion and nothing more. But Dubois, if he did defeat Usyk…..would he really be deserving of being ranked as the second-best British heavyweight ever? Froch put some good names on his list, and it’s great that he gave the so often underrated Joe Bugner a shout. Old-timers such as Tommy Farr should perhaps have a place in a top 10 of this kind, and of course, going back even further, what about the great Bob Fitzsimmons?
For now, destiny, and history, await Daniel Dubois.