I took part in one such lively TV debate this week on the burgeoning specialist channel BoxNation, about who are the greatest British boxers of all time.

It was sparked by the recent publication of the aptly-named "100 Greatest British Boxers" book, compiled by Boxing News. Its editor Matt Christie joined myself and my old sparring partner Colin Hart, the esteemed boxing columnist of The Sun, in a feisty argument about who is simply the best.

The list, and the reasons for the nominations, is a provocative one which caused many disagreements among us. But that's the nature of the game.

The weekly programme, excellently refereed by Alex Steedman, is called Boxing Matters, and obviously it does. Because if you think about it boxing surely is the only individual sport in Britain which can produce 100 outstanding fighters - and there are scores more left out.

Athletics might amass about 50, and sports such as rowing, cycling, golf and tennis may manage a couple of dozen at best.

In the end it was a split decision for top spot between two Welshmen whose careers were over a century apart. The dynamic if diminutive Jimmy Wilde, a world flyweight champion born in 1892 they called "The Ghost with a Hammer in his Hand", and arguably the best boxer of the modern era, the now retired unbeaten world super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.

There was a split verdict for second place too, between two men called Lewis.

It was two-to-one in favour of the phenomenal welterweight champ Ted "Kid" Lewis, who began his 193-fight career at 16 in 1904, over ex-world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. But the rest of the top ten was very much mix-and-match across the three of us, featuring masters of the past Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack "Kid" Berg, "Peerless" Jim Driscoll, Benny Lynch Randolph Turpin and Freddie Welsh.

In contrast there were more recent marquee names including Ken Buchanan, Naseem Hamed, John Conteh, Ricky Hatton and Carl Froch.

As Hart remarks, arguing about who is the greatest splits families and fans even more than Brexit.

Among those who did not quite make the top ten out of the 100 listed by Boxing News was one of my personal favourites, the intrepid Dartford Destroyer, Dave Charnley, plus world champions Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Jim Watt, Duke McKenzie, Barry McGuigan, Frank Bruno, John H Stracey, Alan Minter and Terry Downes. Also not making the cut were the idolised Sir Henry Cooper and prolific old timers Tommy Farr, Freddie Mills and Len Harvey.

Of course such debates inevitably are subjective and deeply controversial.

If anything I think the Boxing News 100 is slightly weighted in favour of the past rather than the present, and no currently active boxer such as Olympic and world champ Anthony Joshua, or Amir Khan, is included.

Few of us around today would have seen the pre-war - indeed both wars - ring czars in the flesh, so our judgement has to be based on records, reputations and maybe the odd film clip.

For the record here is my top ten.

1. Jimmy Wilde 2. Lennox Lewis 3. Ted "Kid" Lewis 4. John Conteh 5. Bob Fitzsimmons 6. Joe Calzaghe 7. Jack "Kid" Berg 8. Ken Buchanan 9. Benny Lynch 10. Naseem Hamed.

Diets and training techniques are far superior today, making comparisons somewhat unrealistic. But intriguing nonetheless.

So much so that my mind turned to thinking about who are Britain's greatest all-round sports figures - and those in the world.

Included in the ground rules are not only their respective merits but the impact they have made both in domestic and world sport.

Let's stick to my top dozen. First, the Best of British:

1. C.B Fry 2. Roger Bannister 3. Daley Thompson 4. Steve Redgrave 5. W.G Grace 6. Sebastian Coe 7. Stanley Matthews 8. Andy Murray 9. Bobby Charlton 10. Mary Rand 11. Torvill and Dean 12. Lennox Lewis.

I know, I know. Where are Fred Perry, Mo Farah, George Best, Gareth Edwards, Bradley Wiggins, Ian Botham, Jack Hobbs, Chris Hoy and a host of others?

As I say, it is a subjective list and these and many more would be on my subs bench.

And why C.B Fry at number one?    

Well, Charles Burgess Fry truly was extraordinary. He possessed an array of talents that have never been equalled, with sporting achievements that left a whole generation awestruck. He played for England at two sports and was world class in another.

He was academically outstanding, an accomplished writer, one of the most handsome men in England. And, if all that sounds improbable, he was also invited to become King of Albania.

It was 100 years ago that he made his debut as an England cricketer, opening against Australia with Grace.

He also played football for England and in an FA Cup Final for Southampton. But his talent at athletics was probably more remarkable still. He equalled the world record in the long jump. 

He was a brilliant sprinter and he would almost certainly have won a gold medal or two at the 1896 Olympic Games had he known they were taking place. They were in Athens, the first Games for 2,000 years or so, and were very badly publicised. Many thought he would have played for England at rugby as well had it not clashed with his football commitments. 

And top of the world? That’s comparatively easy:

1. Muhammad Ali 2. Pele 3. Jesse Owens 4. Gary Sobers 5. Rod Laver 6. Jack Nicklaus 7. Babe Didrikson Zaharias 8. Michael Jordan 9. Donald Bradman 10. Usain Bolt 11. Carl Lewis 12. Serena Williams.

And on the bench, among others: Paavo Nurmi, Emile Zatopecl, Alfred di Stefano, Sachin Tendulkar, Jahangir Khan, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Juan Manuel Fangio, Eddy Merckx, Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, Fammy Blankers-Koen and Martina Navratilova.

Why Muhanmad Ali at numero uno? Well he has already been voted Sports Personality of the 20th century and, in my book, any century. He really did shake up the world. The Greatest. Bar none.

And I include Mildred "Babe" Zaharias Didrikson as she was a gifted athlete from a young age, becoming one of history’s first female sports stars by mastering everything from basketball and track and field to softball, tennis and even bowling. She also broke records as a golfer, winning an unprecedented 82 amateur and professional tournaments before her untimely death at age 45.

So there you go.

Seconds out! It's open for discussion.