“HOW does it feel being known as…?” Herol Graham joins in with the question. “The best British fighter never to win a world title?” we say together. “I agree with it,” he says. “But life is planned out,” he goes on. “You make it how you want it. I was silly not to listen to some people around me, but it was an exciting time when I was fighting. I was happy. I loved it and I’m very grateful for it.” Now a father of six (with his kids aged from two-and-a-half to 30) Graham, who lives by himself in Bradway, Sheffield, and who has been divorced once, is involved in personal training. He works in sports clubs and gyms teaching people exercises, mostly boxing moves. He also runs a skipping class. “It’s going very well,” he says.
Almost 20 years have passed since he was known as the ‘King of Sheffield’, a title that clearly embarrasses him now. “I wouldn’t say I was the king of Sheffield but a celebrity, definitely,” he admits. “Now I hardly go out clubbing. But people still recognise me and talk to me and say they appreciated what I did. People still come up to me and say they watched me fight or they went to America to see me box. “Some people do a double take and say, ‘Excuse me, sir, are you Sidney Poitier?’ ” Herol laughs before conceding: “No, not really. They say, ‘Are you Herol Graham?’ “Then they say: ‘If only you kept your head out of the way against Julian Jackson’.” He lost to Jackson (having opened a lead, he was knocked out by a simply devastating right hand in the fourth in a challenge for the WBC middleweight belt), was pipped by another quality American middleweight champion in Mike McCallum (split decision loss for the WBA belt) and, in his last fight – having knocked Charles Brewer down twice – allowed the Philadelphian back into the fight to win in the 10th in an IBF title fight.
They are amongst the favourite memories of his 54-fight (48-6, 28 inside) career. Herol turned pro in 1978. His last bout came 20 years later against Brewer, but that period included four years of inactivity between 1992 and 1996. “Boxing for world titles are my best memories,” he says happily enough. “Even though I lost, they were all close encounters. I was so close with Jackson, they were going to stop the fight at the end of the round. I only had to stay on my feet and I went and stuck my chin out. “It was one of the most brilliant but lucky shots ever thrown. He threw it from over his head and not even he knew where it was going to land.” What a shot it was. It makes a trip to YouTube worthwhile. Here is the Jackson fight…
More than 100,000 viewers who have clicked on two clips of it would agree. “I always remember and talk about those ones [Jackson, McCallum and Brewer],” says Herol. “I was so close and yet so far away. They could have turned my life around in a big, big way. I could have been a millionaire. It wasn’t to be, but they were still brilliant fights.” But “Bomber” was a brilliant fighter. Some in Sheffield say the city’s now-famous hands-down, unconventional style is the Herol Graham style, rather than that of his former trainer Brendan Ingle, who is often credited with it. Graham was a defensive master; up there with the best.
The term slick southpaw could have been invented for him. He twice lost to Sumbu Kalambay (pts 12 both times) in Euro title efforts but beat Vinny Pazienza (pts 12) in defence of his WBC International title and cleaned up domestically, beating classy fighters and big bangers like James Cook and Mark Kaylor in the late 1980s, largely bamboozling them with that mesmerising technique. “People still remind me of them [the big British fights].
They were easy fights. Don’t get me wrong, they were tough going but I found fighting so easy. “I made most of those fights look easy but they were hard. I always worked my fights out on the night, not before then. Brendan would say to me the guy would do this or do that, but I would work it all out in the ring.” He was that good. Now the former British, European and Commonwealth champion watches fights “now and again”. He was in a London TV studio working for African television when Ricky Hatton boxed Floyd Mayweather in December. He praised Ricky’s heart before saying: “Floyd was reminiscent of myself.”
Herol’s one of only a select few who could get away with saying something like that. He still keeps fit and in shape and moves around with youngsters and beginners in the gym. “I still spar with the guys,” he smiles. “They still can’t hit me and say, ‘Why don’t you make a comeback?’ I say, ‘No thanks. I’m 48. I’ve had my time’.”