Carl Froch has refused to wear the crown as Britain’s all-time greatest fighter, believing that one of his fellow countrymen crafted a more revered legacy.
Many would agree that Froch, while a Hall of Famer, is not in the conversation for UK supremacy across all weight classes.
Instead, the two legends that most frequently get mentioned are Joe Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis, who defeated every fighter they faced in a professional ring.
Before retiring with a record of 46-0 in 2008, Calzaghe had made the most consecutive world title defences (21) of any super-middleweight in history.
Among those he defeated at 168lbs were Mikkel Kessler, who was unbeaten at the time, and Jeff Lacy, a knockout artist who was thought to be one of American boxing’s next breakout stars.
Calzaghe then moved up to 175lbs and outpointed a still-serviceable version of Bernard Hopkins, before doing the same against a more faded Roy Jones Jr.
Arguably the greatest achievement for Lewis, meanwhile, came when he dethroned Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight crown in 1999.
Either side of that fight, ‘The Lion’ suffered shock defeats to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, before ultimately ending his career with stoppage victories over both men.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch admitted that Lewis remains the greatest British fighter of all time.
“I can’t take Lennox Lewis’ crown. [Calzaghe makes it] very, very tight, even closer than [between] Lewis and myself, but I’ll still give that one to Lennox Lewis.”
While Froch defeated the likes of Kessler, Lucian Bute and Jermain Taylor in impressive fashion, there is no victory that compares with Lewis’ over Holyfield.
