Joshua v Whyte: Five more British grudge bouts

In front of a big crowd and a live Sky Sports Box Office audience, the pair will renew hostilities that have brewed since they first met as amateurs.

A raw Joshua was dumped on the canvas and beaten over-the-distance in just his second unpaid bout, which Whyte is adamant will happen again.

The domestic two, the British and Commonwealth belts, will be on the line as well as the WBC International strap for their rematch six years later.

There appears to be genuine hatred to toss into the mix, which certainly isn't the first time in a 'Best of British' contest. Here, our boxing correspondent Craig Birch looks at five more.

1, Joe Bugner versus Henry Cooper, Wembley Arena, 16 March 1971.

Those domestic crowns, along with the European heavyweight title, when ageing hero Cooper met a 21-year-old Bugner in a controversial bout.

The most slenderest of margins, just a quarter of a point, saw Bugner's hand raised in victory with lone official Harry Gibbs making the decision.

Even legendary BBC commentator, the late Harry Carpenter, couldn't contain himself as he protested "how can they take away the man's titles like this?"

Bugner claims he was hounded out of Britain as a result, moving to the United States in 1975 and later setting on the Gold Coast in Australia. He's been there ever since.

2, Lennox Lewis v Frank Bruno, Cardiff Arms Park, 1 October 1993.

The first time that two British-born boxers had fought for a world heavyweight title should have been historic enough to sell this one.

But Bruno, in his third attempt at global glory, then started to question how British Lewis was, having won gold for Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games.

That gave the impetus for Lewis, keen to establish himself as a champion with a belt he was awarded rather than won, to make it personal.

Bruno ate his words when he was stopped in seven rounds, a series of left hooks leaving him all over the place until referee Mickey Vann stepped in.

3, Chris Eubank v Nigel Benn, Old Trafford, 9 October 1993.

The war to settle the score was set for the home of Manchester United, with the bragging rights Eubank's after a ninth round stoppage of Benn in Birmingham three years earlier.

Some 47,000 people crammed into the ground as 18.5million watched at home on ITV, but the return failed to reach the brutal heights of their first encounter.

Benn's chance of revenge went when the judges declared it a draw after the distance. To add insult to injury, a point was taken off 'the Dark Destroyer' for low blows.

The calls to make their meetings a trilogy can still be heard 22 years later. As daft as it sounds both men, with Eubank aged 49 and Benn at 51, could yet do it all again.

4, George Groves v James DeGale, O2 Arena, 21 May 2011.

Parallels can be drawn with Joshua-Whyte as this rivalry was born in the amateurs, when Groves outpointed DeGale in the North-West area final of the 2007 ABAs.

Like Whyte, Groves was only too keen to point that result out when DeGale became one of Joshua's predecessors by winning boxing gold at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Their battle in the pros was a close-run affair and, to DeGale's despair, Groves was once again declared the winner over-the-distance to prove anyone can have a bogeyman.

How sensational would the same scenario be on Saturday? Anybody who fancies a flutter on a long shot would be very happy indeed.

5, George Groves v Carl Froch, 31 May 2014.

The public were screaming blue murder after their first meeting, where Groves was stopped on his feet in the eighth round having dropped Froch in the first.

A second chance for 'Saint George' was demanded, not requested, with subsequent trash talk only heightening what was already bad blood between the two.

But there were no calls of a premature finish when Froch left Groves laying with a hammer of a right hook come the eighth of the biggest post-war British boxing bout.

'The Cobra' answered any notions he was finished although, ironically, it did turn out to be his last fight. With disdain still riding high, he still calls the blow "satisfying."