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Page last updated at 13:32 GMT, Wednesday, 21 October 2009 14:32 UK

BBC pound-for-pound British rankings

Ricky Hatton

After much deliberation, staff at the BBC Sport website have come up with their top-10 British fighters, pound-for-pound.

Ignoring weight, this subjective list takes into account fighters' recent results, their skills, resilience and punching power.

The list will be updated periodically and should be treated as a talking point. Let the debate begin!

POUND-FOR-POUND TOP 10

European cruiserweight champion David Haye

1. David Haye

- Heavyweight
London (22-1, 21KOs)
A fight against Wladimir Klitschko having fallen through, Haye will now fight Russian WBA champion Nikolay Valuev in November. He'll be favourite to win it, but it will be a big ask.

British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion Carl Froch

2. Carl Froch

- Super-middleweight
Nottingham (26-0, 20KOs)
Froch's debut in the Super Six tournament may have left both himself and fans frustrated, but a win is a win. However, he will have to be greatly improved if he is to beat Mikkel Kessler.

WBA welterweight champion Ricky Hatton

3. Ricky Hatton

- Light-welterweight
Manchester (45-2, 32KOs)
Hatton was knocked out in two rounds by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas and his extraordinary career may now be over.

Amir Khan

4. Amir Khan

- Lightweight
Bolton (21-1, 15KOs)
Khan claimed the WBA light-welterweight title with a classy victory over Andreas Kotelnik to silence the doubters. His first defence will be against Dmitriy Salita on 5 December.

British, European and Commonwealth light welterweight champion Junior Witter

5. Junior Witter

- Light-welterweight
Bradford (37-3-2, 22KOs)
Witter's hopes of fighting Amir Khan went up in smoke when he lost to Devon Alexander in trying to reclaim the WBC light-welterweight belt. Difficult to see what options he has left.

Kell Brook

6. Kell Brook

- Welterweight
Sheffield (20-0, 13KOs)
Originally a product of the same Sheffield gym as Naseem Hamed, Brook has been tipped for world honours. Defends his title against Michael Jennings on 30 October.

British lightweight champion John Murray

7. John Murray

- Lightweight
Manchester (28-0, 16KOs)
Was stripped of his British title after coming in too heavy against Scott Lawton, but won it back with a fourth-round stoppage of Jon Thaxton in October. Will now be scenting bigger prizes.

Jamie Moore

8. Jamie Moore

- Light-middleweight
Salford (32-3, 23KOs)
Moore gave an impressive display in stopping Ukrainian Roman Dzuman to defend his European title. Faces Ryan Rhodes next in October.

Kevin Mitchell

9. Kevin Mitchell

- Super-featherweight
Dagenham (28-0, 21KOs)
The British champion's world title hopes have been frustrated by injuries, to both himself and potential opponents, but defends his title against Scotland's Ricky Burns in December.

Nathan Cleverly

10. Nathan Cleverly

- Light-heavyweight
Cefn Forest (18-0, 8KOs)
Cleverly, 22, already owns the British and Commonwealth titles, and following his defeat of Courtney Fry, his fifth straight within the distance, will have his eye on European honours.



see also
BBC pound-for-pound world rankings
30 Sep 09 |  Boxing


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