Herol Graham

Herol Graham
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Bomber[1][2]
Rated at	Light middleweight Middleweight Super middleweight
Height	5 ft 11½ in
Reach	77 in (196 cm)
Nationality	English
Born	13 September 1959 Nottingham, England
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	54
Wins	48
Wins by KO	28
Losses	6

Herol Graham (born 13 September 1959) is a British former professional boxer. He is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era to have never won a world title.^[2] In 1978, after winning the ABA middleweight title, he turned professional, fighting out of Brendan Ingle's gym in the Wincobank area of Sheffield.

Graham went 38 fights undefeated, winning the British, Commonwealth and European light middleweight titles, as well as the British and European middleweight titles. He eventually lost his unbeaten record defending his European middleweight title against future world champion Sumbu Kalambay in 1987. Graham would go on to fight for world titles twice at middleweight and once at super middleweight. In his first attempt, challenging for the vacant WBA middleweight title, he took Mike McCallum to a close split decision; points deducted for low blows ended up costing Graham the verdict. A year later, in another world title challenge, he lost to Julian Jackson in another closely fought contest for the vacant WBC middleweight title. The now-famous devastating right cross that caught Graham and knocked him out cold before he hit the canvas.^[2]

Four years of inactivity were followed by an unexpected comeback in which Graham put together a series of victories to gain a last shot at a world title in March 1998. Challenging Charles Brewer for his IBF super middleweight title, Graham was stopped in the tenth round. Following this he retired from the ring and now lives in London, working as a personal trainer and specialising in boxing-based exercises.

In February 2009, Graham's son was injured in what police described as a "targeted shooting" at Westfield, Sheffield.

Graham released his autobiography entitled Bomber: Behind the Laughter in 2011.^[1]

Amateur accomplishments

1976 Junior World Welterweight Champion (beat John Mugabi in final)

1977 Senior ABA Light-Middleweight finalist (lost to Steve Hopkin)

1978 Senior ABA Middleweight Champion

Professional boxing record

See also

• List of British middleweight boxing champions

References

1. "Herol Graham: I tried to kill myself". The Sun. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
2. Ben Lettman (21 January 2013). "Herol Graham: I'm fine being British boxing's nearly man". The Voice. Retrieved 5 May 2013.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Herol Graham from BoxRec
• Official website