The United Kingdom has a long history of churning out promising big men. Pele Reid, a former kickboxer who once knocked out Vitali Klitschko with a spinning round kick, was one such highly regarded up-and-comer as he won his first 13 bouts by stoppage, seven of which in the first round. The 18-7 Julius Francis, even though British champion, was expected to meet a similar fate in 1999 before he drew all the energy from his crude foe and scored a knockout himself in the third round. Francis would go on to snare a date with Tyson but Reid, particularly after some homicidal matchmaking paired him with Orlin Norris in his comeback bout, drifted out of contention.
