Olympic medals and a fight with Muhammed Ali: Explore military boxing history's biggest names
It's time for another big Forces Fight Night with the 2024 Inter Services and a card full of potentially big names in the future of boxing.
The sport and the British military have always had a strong relationship, including Army coaches now shaping the best of England Boxing's squad.
But who are the biggest boxing names to come from the British military?
Sir Henry Cooper (British Army)
Starting perhaps with the most famous boxer to have ever been part of the UK Armed Forces.
Sir Henry Cooper competed for Great Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki before embarking on a two-year stint of National Service.
Cooper's family had a history of military service with his father, Henry Snr, serving during both the First and Second world wars while his twin brother, George, served in the Royal Artillery.
After his service, Cooper's boxing career took off and his highlight was becoming British, Commonwealth and European champion as well as flooring Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammed Ali, in a high-profile encounter which he ultimately lost by a technical knock-out.
In 2000, he was knighted for his services to boxing and died in May 2011.
Karriss Artingstall (British Army)
The latest Olympic boxer to come from the British military and her bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was an incredible achievement.
A quarter-final win over Skye Nicholson sealed a medal for the now-former member of the Royal Artillery but she was unable to get gold or silver after being beaten by Sena Irie.
Since leaving the military and going professional, Artingstall has a 5-0 record with wins over Vaida Masiokaite, Marina Sakharov, Linzi Buczynskyj, Jade Taylor and Lila Furtado.
Artingstall hopes that the win over Furtado on the Natasha Jones v Mikaela Mayer undercard at the Echo Arena in Liverpol could catapult her into the conversation for a world title shot in 2024.
Chris Bessey (British Army)
A dominant force in amateur boxing, Chris Bessey won six national championships from 1993 to 2000.
He also won a gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur while representing England in the light-heavyweight division.
Since hanging up the gloves, he's continued his career in the Army as a Warrant Officer and has also served as head coach of the Army boxing team.
Nigel Benn (British Army)
Did you know that before the Chris Eubank bouts, his induction into the boxing Hall of Fame, an appearance in the jungle for I'm a Celebrity and before an unlikely comeback attempt, Nigel Benn served in the British military?
In 1982, at the age of 18, Benn served in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and spent time in West Germany and Northern Ireland.
When he left the military, his boxing career kicked off and he went down in history as one of the best British boxers to ever get into a ring.
He won two world titles, an amateur national championship and a Commonwealth championship during his boxing career.
His rivalry with Chris Eubank will go down as one of the most famous boxing feuds of all time and their first fight was billed as "a war to end all wars".
George Crotty (Royal Navy/Royal Marines)
A man who has seen his 2024 Olympics dream potentially dashed, but it's expected that Crotty will appear at the Inter Services on Wednesday.
During his amateur career, he's represented England on a number of international tournaments including the Eindhoven Box Cup, the Algarve Box Cup, the World Boxing Cup and in a major fixture against Ireland.
In 2017, he won a national title beating Thomas Whittaker Hart in the English National Elite 81kg Final in Rotherham.
Crotty is a serving Royal Marine and still hopes to appear at Paris 2024 with one more qualifying opportunity expected in the summer.
WATCH the 2024 Inter Services boxing championships live from 19:15 UK time on Wednesday 20 March with the Forces Fight Night coverage shown on the Forces News YouTube channel.
Join Our Newsletter
