As Daniel Dubois looks to become the latest heavyweight from London to make his mark on the world stage, here are 10 other heavyweights born in the nation’s capital who did just that…
1 Lennox Lewis
Born in West Ham, Lewis is a three-time world heavyweight champion and arguably one of the best boxers to ever fly the Union Jack. He beat, among many others, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko, Hasim Rahman, David Tua, and Frank Bruno.
2 Anthony Joshua
The wheels may have come off against Oleksandr Usyk last year, but before that Joshua had gathered WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight titles and shown his pedigree in wins against the likes of Alexander Povetkin, Dillian Whyte and, of course, Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
3 Frank Bruno
A world champion at the third time of asking, the popular Bruno got his hands on the WBC heavyweight title in 1995, when outpointing Oliver McCall. His issue, however, was existing in the same era as Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, both of whom stopped him.Â
4 David Haye
Though Haye did his best work at cruiserweight, a 2009 decision over Nikolay Valuev delivered him the WBA heavyweight title. This then led to a 2011 unification fight against Wladimir Klitschko, which was a step too far for Haye.
5 Henry Akinwande
Never easy on the eyes, Akinwande was nevertheless an effective, awkward heavyweight who won the WBO heavyweight title in 1996 with a stoppage of Jeremy Williams. He made two defences of that title, then later lost against Lennox Lewis.
6 Michael Bentt
While he boxed only 13 times as a pro, Bentt shocked the boxing world in 1993 with a stunning first-round knockout of Tommy Morrison to win the WBO heavyweight title. It was a belt Bentt then lost against Herbie Hide in his first defence.
7 Henry Cooper
An iconic face of British boxing, Cooper was a British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion who famously knocked down Muhammad Ali in a losing effort in 1963. He also shared a ring with Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson.
8 Danny Williams
Sadly still boxing today, Williams, at his best, was a long-time British heavyweight champion whose career highlight was knocking out a faded Mike Tyson in 2004 before later that year challenging unsuccessfully for Vitali Klitschko’s WBC title.
9 Don Cockell
Cockell was primarily a light-heavyweight, yet still enjoyed success at heavyweight, beating an aged Tommy Farr in 1953 and then winning the British title against Johnny Williams. He also outpointed Roland LaStarza and challenged Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight title in 1955.
10 Audley Harrison
A much-maligned figure, Harrison was nonetheless an important one in British boxing. He also managed to win a European title against Michael Sprott in 2010 and challenged unsuccessfully for a WBA belt against David Haye that same year.
