Sport in the United Kingdom the evolution of modern boxing, with the codification of the rules of the sport known as the Queensberry Rules, named after John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry in 1867. Britain's first heavyweight world champion Bob Fitzsimmons made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. Some of the best contemporary British boxers included; super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, featherweight champion Naseem Hamed, and heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. Welshman Calzaghe's display against Jeff Lacy in 2006 prompted Lacy's trainer to state "I have never seen a better performance than that in the world." British professional boxing offers some of the largest
Barbados Joe Walcott was TKO'ed by the champion George "Kid" Lavigne in the 12th round. He was also unsuccessful in his first attempt to win the world Welterweight championship when Mysterious Billy Smith outpointed him on December 6, 1898. Likely his most frequent opponent, Walcott fought Smith six times in his career. On February 23, 1900, Walcott met the Jewish light heavyweight, Joe Choynski, winning in a surprising seventh-round TKO, though outweighed by 16 pounds and conceding his opponent a full foot advantage in height. Likely sensing the need for a quick start against his gifted opponent, Walcott sent Choynski to the mat