Eubank, Benn: Britain’s best fighters to miss out on the Hall of Fame

Britain has been a force in professional boxing since its inception and has proudly had eight fighters inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame – but who has missed out?

The International Boxing Hall of Fame was created in 1989 and has long been considered the standard for measuring great fighters and whether their legacy transcends simply being a world champion.

It is a hallowed pantheon celebrating the best boxers that have ever lived, so it would be fair to assume, given the United Kingdom’s impressive history of boxing icons and champions, that there are more than a few features from British fighters in the Hall of Fame.

But in the modern category, excluding the old timers and pioneer category, there are only eight Brits who have been inducted to date: Carl Froch, Lennox Lewis, Ken Buchanan, Barry McGuigan, Randy Turpin, Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton.

With the release of the 2026 ballot containing two British icons and rivals, Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn, it seems appropriate to break down the British boxing legends who have thus far been snubbed of a place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Lloyd Honeyghan

Lloyd Honeyghan, 43-5 (30), was a British welterweight who competed between 1980 and 1995, and while not universally recognised, was one of Britain’s first three-belt undisputed champions.

Within his first five years as a professional, Honeyghan was undefeated in 21 fights and had claimed the British and European welterweight titles, which saw him recognised as a world title-level contender.

Then in 1986, he took on Donald Curry, who was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world behind Marvin Hagler, for the undisputed welterweight titles in Atlantic City.

Honeyghan produced a career-best performance, beating up Curry for six rounds before the American retired on his stool with a nasty cut on his eye and broken nose.

Honeyghan could have reigned as the undisputed champion, but vacated his WBA belt because of the sanctioning body's choice to put on shows in apartheid South Africa.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

He defended his unified titles three times before losing them on a technical decision to Jorge Vaca, after a cut brought the fight to an early and controversial end. But Honeyghan would get his revenge in his next fight, knocking Vaca out in the third round.

Honeyghan retired in 1995 as an undisputed and two-time welterweight champion of the world with a victory over a Hall of Fame boxer on his record.

Subscribe to DAZN now to watch over 185 fights a year

ON BOXING

David Haye

David Haye, 28-4 (26), was one of Britain’s most exciting and explosive talents, competing between 2002 and 2018. He became a two-weight champion and is a member of an exclusive club containing only Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk of fighters to hold championship gold at cruiserweight anf heavyweight.

Haye burst onto the scene, beating all of his first 10 opponents inside the distance before a loss to Carl Thompson in 2004 for the IBO cruiserweight title.

But Haye continued unperturbed, claiming the European title in 2005 and getting his first shot at a recognised world title against Jean-Marc Mormeck in 2007 for the WBA and WBC belts.

He then unified the WBO belt four months later, demolishing Welsh fan favourite Enzo Maccarinelli inside two rounds.

Haye then eyed greatness to become only the second man to win a world title at both cruiserweight and heavyweight – a feat only achieved, at the time, by Hall of Famer Evander Holyfield.

It was no easy task as Haye took on the WBA champion and seven-foot-tall monster Nikolai Valuev in 2009.

The fight was close, but Haye displayed expert defensive skills and power to nearly knock Valuev out on his way to a majority decision.

It then proved a bridge too far when Haye attempted to become the unified champion against Wladimir Klitschko in his backyard – losing a unanimous decision.

David Haye defeated Nikolai Valuev in 2009 (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Archive)

Frank Bruno

Frank Bruno, 40-5 (38), will forever be remembered not only for his relentless pursuit of heavyweight glory, but his endearing personality and booming laugh that captured the imagination of the British fight public.

His laugh was unfortunately not enough to give him access to the Hall of Fame, but his achievements as a boxer could.

Bruno competed between 1982 and 1996 and had three attempts at becoming heavyweight champion before his endless hours of toil paid off.

His first attempt came against Tim Witherspoon in 1986 at Wembley Stadium for the WBA title, but Bruno, having given a courageous account of himself, fell to Witherspoon in the 11th round.

After four comeback wins, including a knockout of heavyweight stalwart and legend in his own right Joe Bugner, Bruno found himself in the ring with one of the most fearsome punchers of all time, Mike Tyson.

This was Bruno’s only attempt at any unified titles, and he fell short once again. He was forced to take four more fights to land another shot at his British rival and WBC champion Lennox Lewis.

In front of a sold-out National Stadium in Cardiff, Bruno looked as though he had his best chance at a world title, getting the better of Lewis for the first six rounds before Lewis knocked him out in the seventh.

It looked as though a world title might not be on the cards for Bruno as he approached the twilight of his career, but one more chance would be presented against an unlikely champion in Oliver McCall.

In front of his home fans at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, Bruno boxed his way to a unanimous decision and became WBC heavyweight world champion.

Bruno would retire after losing his title in a second fight with Tyson in 1996, but his unyielding style and mentality had finally got him over the line the previous year.

Bruno winning the WBC world heavyweight title against Oliver McCall in 1995 (Getty)

Chris Eubank

Chris Eubank, 45-5 (23), is widely considered one of the best British boxers of all time and ended his career after having a generation-defining rivalry with Nigel Benn and as a two-weight world champion.

Eubank was 24-0 before he got his first world title shot in a mega fight with his rival Benn in 1990.

Most of the country was behind Benn as Eubank had divided public opinion with his flashy antics and flamboyance – but opinion played no part in the instant classic fight that saw Eubank and Benn throw the kitchen sink at each other before Eubank stopped Benn in the ninth round to become WBO middleweight champion.

Eubank defended his title a handful of times before he moved to super middleweight and became the WBO champion, defeating Michael Watson and reigning for four years, defending the belt an unprecedented 14 times, including a disappointing draw in a rematch with Benn.

He would lose his title to another feature on the 2026 ballot, Steve Collins, and failed to reclaim it in a rematch.

Eubank ended his career with three back-to-back losses, one against a young Joe Calzaghe and two at cruiserweight to Carl Thompson.

But Eubank’s extended reign as a world champion that saw him amass 20 straight world title fights, losing only once in that time, including his fiery rivalry with Benn, defined an era of British boxing.

Chris Eubank celebrates his victory over Nigel Benn in 1990 (Getty Images)

Nigel Benn

Nigel Benn, 42-5 (35), was one of the most dangerous fighters in the 1990s and another of the golden generation of British fighters.

He fought between 1987 and 1996, claiming world titles at both middleweight and super-middleweight.

His first world title shot came not long after a loss to Michael Watson. He fought Doug DeWitt in 1990 and had by that time become a fan favourite because of his ruthless aggression and highlight-reel knockouts.

Benn knocked out DeWitt in eight rounds and defended his title that same year, annihilating Iran Barkley in the first round to set up his career-defining rivalry with Eubank who would steal his WBO middleweight title that same year.

The aptly named ‘Destroyer’ moved to super middleweight and blasted past his first six opponents to land a world title shot on enemy soil. Benn was an irresistible force and knocked out Mauro Galvano in the fourth round, causing a riot in the crowd.

He defended his WBC super middleweight title nine times, inclusive of a draw with Eubank and a knockout of the legendary Gerald McClellan in 1995.

Benn retired as a two-weight world champion in 1996 after back-to-back losses against Steve Collins.

The career intertwinement and resemblance between Benn and Eubank is iconic but also a reason why if both men get inducted into the Hall of Fame, it should be in the same year.

Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank’s rematch in 1993 (PA)

Watch the biggest fights and best fighters with a DAZN subscription

A DAZN subscription provides access to over 185 fights a year across a range of combat sports from the world's best promoters. For pricing and more information, click here.