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Joshua, Tyson, Crawford: Five superstars that dazzled in Glasgow ahead of Collins-Lorente
Nathaniel Collins will hope to take the next step in becoming a household name this weekend when he takes on Cristobal Lorente at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, live on DAZN.
Already backed by Scottish boxing royalty in the form of Josh Taylor, Collins is touted to become Britain’s next world champion.
And Glasgow has been the perfect stage for a host of big names from around the world to shine over the years, including these five stars.
- Read next | Nathaniel Collins vs Cristobal Lorente: Date, ringwalks, undercard, prediction, latest news, how to watch on DAZN
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson’s comeback tour took him to the United Kingdom for the first time. He dispatched British heavyweight champion Julius Francis at the start of 2000, with plans to face fellow American Lou Savarese in Milan the following May.
Injury to Tyson delayed the fight while also forcing a new venue to be selected. Ultimately, Hampden Park was chosen to play host to the heavyweight clash. Glasgow was rainy, but the spectators in the national football stadium did not have to worry about sticking around as Tyson finished the contest within 38 seconds.
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Immediately stunning his opponent, Tyson was throwing punches so furiously that he caught the referee in the aftermath of the stoppage. In his autobiography some years later, Tyson revealed that he had smoked marijuana and cocaine in the build-up to the fight, perhaps explaining his erratic comments that he wanted to ‘eat’ the children of desired opponent, Lennox Lewis, in his post-fight interview.
The fight with Lewis would take another two years to materialise, with ‘The Lion’ ending Tyson’s ambitions of becoming a world champion again with an eighth-round knockout in June 2002.
Anthony Joshua
Tyson was not the only heavyweight to secure a quick finish in Glasgow. Anthony Joshua repeated the trick 14 years later at the Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Already known around Britain thanks to winning gold at the London Olympics in 2012, Joshua’s first three professional fights took place in England. He started to show his face in other corners of the British Isles, first in Cardiff, before staging his fifth fight in Scotland.
Ian Walton, Matchroom Boxing
In a bid to attract support from the Glasgow crowd AJ walked out to 500 Miles by The Proclaimers, before knocking out Hector Alfredo Avila inside the first round.
That helped set the tone for the evening as the co-main event, bringing the atmosphere to a fever-pitch for the headliners - which saw Scot Ricky Burns take on an up-and-coming American.
Terence Crawford
Now an undisputed champion at a record-breaking third weight, Terence Crawford picked up his first world title far from his home in Omaha, Nebraska.
The aforementioned Burns was the WBO world lightweight champion and had made four successful defences of his crown. A two-division world champion with home advantage, Burns was still viewed as the betting underdog, given 2/1 odds.
But for UK fans, Crawford was a relative unknown arriving with plenty of hype from his native USA. A cagey first round preceded a tactical affair, where before long it became clear that Crawford was the real deal.
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As the fight neared the championship rounds, ‘Bud’ took control of the action, his dominance clear enough that he attempted to find a finish with powerful shots in the 12th round. Burns managed to survive until the final bell, but there was no doubt over who had won the contest.
The 26-year-old Crawford was rightfully awarded with the first world title of his career - before going on to win 13 more belts in the following 12 years.
Only 30 himself, Burns would return to world title contention at super lightweight, winning the WBA belt at 140lbs two years later. His last world title fight would be a unification bout against IBF champ Julius Indongo in 2017. Ironically, victory would have likely set up a rematch with Crawford for undisputed status, who had gone on to earn the other two belts at super lightweight.
By the end of 2017, Crawford had defeated Indongo, conquering a division entirely for the first time.
Naoya Inoue
Another undisputed star from far away graced Glasgow with their abilities long before they had proven their quality. In 2019 Naoya Inoue fought in the UK for the first time, also marking just his second bout outside of his native Japan.
Already a three-weight world champion, Inoue was beginning his takeover of the bantamweight division. The World Boxing Super Series semi-finals had set up a unification bout with Emmanuel Rodríguez, the IBF champion at 118lbs.
YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images
Most in the OVO Hydro Arena were in attendance to support Scot Josh Taylor as he became a world champion for the first time with victory over Ivan Baranchyk, but Inoue turned a few heads with a second-round knockout.
British boxers watching on were impressed, with heavyweight contender Dave Allen tweeting at the time: "I'm fully on the Inoue train unbelievable. He's nearly 10 stone lighter than me but I wouldn't fancy a crack off him. I think if he hit anyone flush no matter how big you are you're going over."
Naseem Hamed
Flashy, flamboyant, and fast, fans watching Naseem Hamed might have blinked and missed the Prince’s world title defence in 1996. The year prior at the Exhibition and Conference Centre Hamed had dealt with Armando Castro inside four rounds, but 14 months later he had improved enough to become a world champion.
John Gichigi /Allsport
Making the first defence of his WBO featherweight crown after defeating Steve Robinson in Cardiff, Hamed retained his title with just one punch. Hamed was laidback in his approach with his arms down, while challenger Said Lawal allowed himself to be walked onto the ropes.
Hamed threw a right uppercut through Lawal’s guard and his opponent crumpled to the ground. The fight was over after just 35 seconds. That was Hamed’s last appearance in Scotland as he went on to make 14 more defences of his WBO title, briefly unifying with the WBC and IBF straps, albeit at separate times.
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