On Saturday, Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois collide at the Co-op Live Arena with the WBO heavyweight world title at stake, as Wardley seeks to prove that he is a valid and worthy ruler after being elevated to the throne.
All-British clashes for the heavyweight title have become more common over the last few decades and the United Kingdom’s presence amongst the divisional elite has become an expectation rather than a blessing. Although, fights for boxing’s biggest prize, away from the capital cities, are still a rarity on British shores.
Still, when Manchester hosts Wardley and Dubois, it will be the sixth occasion in boxing history where a heavyweight world title bout has headed to Manchester. Here, we recall the other instances where the coveted crown was on the line in the ‘Capital of the North’, all of which took place at Manchester Arena.
Herbie Hide vs. Damon Reed – April 18, 1998
Herbie Hide needed just two rounds to run through Tony Tucker in Norwich and get his hands on the WBO heavyweight world title for a second time back in 1997.
His first defence was a forgettable encounter but on a memorable night, as he dispatched of the United States’ Damon Reed on the undercard of Carl Thompson’s triumph over Chris Eubank, on a bill that also featured Naseem Hamed’s stoppage of Wilfredo Vazquez.
Hide took less than 20 seconds to floor Reed, buzzing the American with a straight right-hand before dropping him with a left hook whilst on unsteady legs. Reed returned to his feet, with referee Rudy Battle grimacing as he permitted the challenger to continue, only to change his mind when Hide rushed in to finish the job.
Battle waved off the contest, bringing the ‘action’ to a close inside of a minute, with Reed failing to land a single blow and throwing only one in what was a quick, quirky and questionable affair.
David Haye vs. John Ruiz – April 3, 2010
After a career-defining triumph against the gigantic Nikolai Valuev in Germany, David Haye returned to British soil to defend the WBA heavyweight world title against two-time champion John Ruiz.
Past his prime at the age of 38 years old, the Massachusetts veteran soon looked overmatched, floored by Haye inside 30 seconds after being on the receiving end of a brutal one-two from the former cruiserweight ruler.
Moments later, a series of right-hands reined in on the challenger, who hit the deck for a second time whilst claiming to have been struck on the back of the head. Confusingly, Haye was deducted a point, but the knockdown was awarded, before Ruiz battled to survive the remainder of the opening round.
To his credit, the experienced Ruiz bravely fought on and grew into the bout, but he was forced to take a knee in the fifth, as a measured right-hand got through and landed flush on his chin.
In the sixth, Ruiz took another knee, but as things became more one-sided, the towel came in and the show was closed in the ninth, as Haye scored a dominant victory in his first outing as heavyweight world champion.
David Haye vs. Audley Harrison – November 13, 2010
In his first major boxing event, Eddie Hearn promoted a showdown between David Haye and Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison. Representing the challenger, Hearn informed British fight fans that Harrison was capable of dethroning ‘The Hayemaker’ – who headlined the M.E.N. Arena for a second consecutive time since becoming the WBA heavyweight champion.
Hearn’s estimations proved to be wide of the mark and an uninspiring and underwhelming contest ensued, with Harrison hardly throwing a punch, as boos echoed around the 23,000-capacity venue in between rounds.
In round three, Haye took the initiative and piled the pressure onto Harrison, who covered up and offered nothing in return, before collapsing face-first into the canvas. ‘A-force’ rose to his feet as a wounded man, with Haye quick to pounce onto his fellow Briton and draw the stoppage from referee Luis Pabon.
Anthony Joshua vs. Eric Molina – December 10, 2016
Anthony Joshua met with Eric Molina for a second defence of the IBF blet, on a card that also featured Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora’s first fight.
As expected, ‘AJ’ dictated proceedings with the Texan reluctant to engage. In the third-round, Joshua found a home for a pinpoint straight right-hand, slumping Molina into the corner, who looked amazed at the power that he had just felt.
Still, Molina was able to fight on, but only momentarily, as referee Steve Gray intervened after clean shots consistently landed on the helpless challenger, awarding Joshua an 18th consecutive knockout win and teeing up that legendary showdown with Wladimir Klitschko.
Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury – September 23, 2017
Last but not least comes the only heavyweight world title affair in Manchester to have lasted more than nine rounds, as Joseph Parker made the maiden defence of his WBO belt against fellow unbeaten heavyweight, Hughie Fury.
In a scrappy fight with little output of any note, Joseph Parker landed the more consequential blows in what proved to be a dismal dust-up, doing enough to claim a majority-decision victory (118-110, 118-110, 114-114).
Parker would earn a clash with Anthony Joshua off the back of this win and although he became the first fighter to go the distance with ‘AJ’, he suffered a first career defeat and lost his title.
