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Biggest British boxing upsets: Underdog Daniel Dubois seeks inspiration from history

Daniel Dubois is targeting a huge upset when he takes on unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Poland on Saturday night.

Londoner Dubois is 6/1 to claim a shock victory over 1/10 Usyk, the reigning WBO, WBA (Super) and IBF champion, but there have been some great underdog triumphs featuring British fighters over the years.

WhatOleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois
WhereStadion Wroclaw, Poland
When22:00, Saturday 26th August
How to watchTNT Sports Box Office
OddsOleksandr Usyk 1/10, Daniel Dubois 6/1

Turpin triumph shocks Sugar Ray

Randolph Turpin's victory over American legend Sugar Ray Robinson may have taken place way back in 1951, but it is still talked about as one of the greatest underdog victories involving a British boxer.

Robinson could not be accused of dodging fights, as he arrived at Earls Court in London at the end of a long European tour, with a career record of just one defeat in 131 bouts.

Turpin hailed from Leamington Spa - not renowned as a hotbed of boxing talent - and he was just 23 when he entered the ring with the fearsome Sugar Ray.

The Leamington Licker was rated a true outside shot but he went toe-to-toe with Robinson, who suffered a cut after a clash of heads in the sixth round, and Turpin's power and awkward style earned him a points win at the end of their 15-round battle.

Around 18,000 fans witnessed the youngster dethrone the world middleweight champion, although Robinson avenged his defeat in New York just a couple of months later.

Laing lands 'Upset of the Year' against Duran

Fast forward to September 1982 and Kirkland Laing's points victory against the mighty Roberto Duran at the Cobo Hall in Detroit.

Duran, a true boxing superstar after two iconic welterweight title fights against Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980, was no longer at his peak but still expected to ease past the little-known Laing.

Long before Jose Mourinho declared himself 'the Special One', Laing was nicknamed 'the Gifted One' and he lived up to the moniker in Detroit, causing Duran all sorts of problems with his unorthodox style.

Most ringside observers reckoned Laing was a clear winner, although he had to settle for a split decision on points after keeping Duran at bay for 10 impressive rounds in a fight that was declared Ring Magazine's 'Upset of the Year'.

Sweet success for confident Honeyghan

Lloyd Honeyghan, like Laing, was born in Jamaica, but at the age of nine he moved to Bermondsey in south-east London.

He always talked a good game, even before his daunting fight against the unbeaten American middleweight star Donald Curry in Atlantic City in September 1986.

The Londoner reportedly put his money where his mouth was, placing a bet of $5,000 on himself to beat Curry at odds of 5/1, and he hit the jackpot at the Caesars Hotel & Casino.

There was no fluke about the result as Honeyghan dominated the fight, breaking Curry's nose and inflicting a cut that required 20 stitches on his way to a win which one veteran US boxing journalist rated as the biggest upset since Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston in 1964.

Calzaghe hits the big time in Manchester

Nigel Benn's defeat of Gerald McClellan in 1995 and David Haye's victory over giant Russian Nikolai Valuev in 2009 are well worth a mention on this list, but Joe Calzaghe's Manchester win against Jeff Lacy in 2006 gets the nod.

Lacy was a superstar of US sport by the time he took on the Welshman, stopping 17 of his previous 22 opponents, and the IBF super-middleweight champion was a strong favourite at the MEN Arena.

But Calzaghe, the WBO champion, rose to the occasion on a night that confirmed his status at the very top of the sport, knocking Lacy down in the 12th round and claiming a unanimous points victory.

While Lacy's career petered out after his defeat in Manchester, Calzaghe boxed on until 2009 and retired with an unbeaten record of 46 wins and no losses.

Fantastic Fury delivers on pre-fight prediction

Tyson Fury is now one of the biggest names in British sport, but back in November 2015 he was a major underdog for his fight against IBO, IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf.

Few people took Fury seriously when he claimed that "this is going to be one of my easiest fights".

However, he backed up that bullish prediction in the ring, holding off Klitschko to seal a unanimous points decision that crowned him as the new unified heavyweight champion of the world.

Dubois will be hoping to follow suit when he faces Klitschko's fellow Ukrainian Usyk on Saturday, and the Englishman is 8/1 to win by KO, TKO or Disqualification and 28/1 to win by Decision or Technical Decision.

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