As world championship boxing returns to Nottingham this weekend with our very own Leigh Wood defending his WBA featherweight title against Mick Conlan, what better time to take a look back at some of the city’s other boxing heroes?
Who can forget the momentous moment Colwick’s Carl Froch sent George Groves to the canvas in front of 80,000 screaming fans at Wembley back in 2014?
Or Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham taking Mike McCallum all the way in 1989 for the vacant WBA middleweight title, only to lose on a split decision?
READ MORE: The day Nottingham swimming legend Torpedo Tom Blower made world history
We also take a look at former Radford Boys Club gym members Jason and Nicky Booth and their huge success over the years in the lighter classes.
There’s also Jawaid ‘Too Sleek’ Khaliq, who became the first British Asian boxing champion after winning the IBO welterweight title in 2001 against American Willy Wise.
And where would this list be without legendary bare knuckle boxer William ‘Bendigo’ Thompson?
The 19 th century heavyweight powerhouse, beaten only once in 20 fights, became the Heavyweight Champion of England in 1839.
A fair few interesting tales lie ahead, so seconds out, round one … ding ding
Carl Froch
Nickname: The Cobra
Weight: Super-middleweight
Height: 6ft 1in (185cm)
Reach: 75 in (191cm)
Born: 2 July 1977 (age 44), Colwick, Nottingham
Stance: Orthodox
Boxing record: Wins: 33; Wins by KO 24; Losses 2
Greatest hits
Froch’s most famous moment came when he sent George Groves to the canvas in a crumpled heap in round eight of the Unfinished Business rematch in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley in 2014.
The win meant Froch retained his WBA (regular) and IBF super-middleweight titles.
The Cobra’s career is littered with hugely memorable fights, such as his rematch against Mikkel Kessler – dubbed the Warrior’s Call – in 2013.
A dynamite clash saw heavy hitting from both fighters, with the high pace never letting up. After the full 12 rounds, Froch was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
The previous year saw an under-pressure Froch knock out the overwhelming favourite Lucian Bute at Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena.
Despite being the underdog, The Cobra dominated the fight to win the IBF Super Middleweight championship of the world by TKO in round five.
The win kick-started his run with promoter Eddie Hearn and Sky and transformed Froch into a pay-per-view fighter.
Going further back to 2009, a beleaguered Froch was down on the scorecards in his tussle with former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor.
Undeterred, our Nottingham hero produced a knockout blow in the dying seconds of the last round to retain his WBC super middleweight title.
Froch was voted Fighter of the Year by boxing website BoxRec in 2012.
He began boxing at the Phoenix ABC in Gedling, Nottingham, working his way up the amateur ranks before turning pro in 2002.
Herol "Bomber" Graham
Nickname: Bomber
Weight(s): Light middleweight; Middleweight; Super-middleweight
Height: 5ft 11 ½ in (182 cm)
Reach: 77 in (196cm)
Born: 13 September, 1959 (age 62), Nottingham
Stance: Southpaw
Boxing record: Wins: 48; Wins by KO 28; Losses 6
Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham turned pro in 1978 after winning the Amateur Boxing Association middleweight title.
Bomber got off to a storming start in his glittering career, and was undefeated in his first 38 fights, scooping the British and European middleweight titles as well as the British, Commonwealth and European light-middleweight titles.
His unbeaten record came to an end in 1987 when he lost his European middleweight belt to future world champion Sumbu Kalambay.
Bomber was undeterred and would go on to fight for two more middleweight titles and another super-middleweight.
He took Mike McCallum all the way in 1989 for the vacant WBA middleweight title, only to lose on a split decision, with Bomber losing points for low blows.
In a further world title challenge the following year, despite a valiant effort, our Nottingham hero lost to Julian Jackson for the vacant WBC middleweight title.
Bomber outclassed the hard-hitting American for almost four rounds before being knocked out cold by the devastating ‘Punch of the Century’.
Following four years out of the spotlight, Bomber launched an unforeseen comeback when he strung together a series of wins to gain a last shot at the world title in 1998.
Only Charles Brewer stood in his way of claiming the IBF super middleweight title. Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort, our Herol was stopped in the tenth round - his last ever fight.
Jason Booth
Nickname: Too Smooth
Weight(s): Flyweight; Super-flyweight; Bantamweight; Super-Bantamweight
Height: 5ft 4in (163cm)
Born: 7 November 1977 (age 44), Nottingham
Stance: Orthodox
Boxing record: Wins 38; Wins by KO 15; Losses 15
After boxing for England and winning five national titles, Jason turned pro at 18 in 1996, with a third round win over Darren Noble.
He went on to scoop the British and European titles and at 25 he boxed his way to claim the IBO super-flyweight world crown from South African Lunga Ntontela in 2003.
A year later, Jason lost the title to Ulsterman Damaen Kelly on a controversial points decision.
Booth then spent two years out of the ring as he struggled with alcohol and drugs.
He made a comeback in 2006 where he moved up to bantamweight and defeated journeyman Abdul Mghrbel.
Throughout his career Jason has held the Commonwealth bantamweight title from 2007 to 2008; the British super-bantamweight title from 2009 to 2011 and the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title twice in 2010 and 2011.
Jason once challenged for the IBF super bantamweight title in 2010, but was beaten by two-time holder of the belt Steve Molitor.
Too Smooth Booth always wanted to be a boxer after his grandad took him to the Radford Boys Club gym in Nottingham.
Nicky Booth
Nickname: 1 Smooth
Weight: Bantamweight
Height: 5ft 6 (1.68m)
Reach: 68in (173cm)
Born: 21 January, 1980, Nottingham. Died 13 January 2021 (aged 40)
Stance: Orthodox
Boxing record: Wins 17; Wins by KO 7; Losses 5; Draws 1
Regarded as one of Britain’s best ever bantamweights, Nicky competed between 1998 and 2003 and fought his way to both British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles.
He challenged for the IBO bantamweight title in 2001, but sadly lost to Colombian Jose Sanjuelo by TKO.
The younger brother of boxer Jason and fellow former Radford Boys Club gym member, Nicky stopped boxing professionally in 2003 after he lost a World Boxing Union title fight at Harvey Hadden Stadium, in Bilborough, against Nathan Sting.
He retired with a record of 17 wins from 23 fights.
Nicky sadly died in 2021 after being admitted with liver failure to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Jawaid Khaliq
Nickname: Too Sleek
Weight(s): Welterweight; Light-middleweight
Height: 5ft 10 ½ in (179cm)
Born: 30 July, 1970 (age 51), Meadows, Nottingham
Stance: Orthodox
Boxing record: Wins 23; Wins by KO 13; Losses 1; Draws 1
A dual Pakistan national, Jawaid became the first British Asian boxing champion after winning the IBO welterweight title in 2001 against American Willy Wise.
This set Jawaid on the path to wanting to pursue the bigger fights in America, with world-class boxers such as Vernon Forest expressing more than an interest.
But promotional issues meant the Nottingham boxer’s ambitions fell by the wayside.
Too Sleek did, however, go on to successfully defend the title seven times against such challengers as Jacek Bielski (Poland), Maxim Nesterenko (Russia), Jan Piet Bergman (South Africa) and finally Ener Julio (Colombia) in 2004.
Jawaid also held multiple regional championships, including the Commonwealth welterweight title in 2000.
He chose to retire after admitting to ‘losing his hunger’ and getting tired of fights being cancelled.
Jawaid went on to be a taxi driver and also set up the Jawaid Khaliq Boxing Academy in Nottingham, where he was awarded an MBE for his service to the community.
William ‘Bendigo’ Thompson
Nickname: Bendigo
Weight: Heavyweight
Height: 5ft 9.75 in (1.77m)
Born: 11 October 1811, Trinity Walk, Nottingham; Died: 23 August 1880 (aged 68)
Stance: Southpaw
Boxing record: 19 wins; 1 loss
This bare-knuckle boxer won the heavyweight championship of England from James Burke in February 1839.
Born into an impoverished family of 21 children, he went on to work as an ironworker.
His chosen occupation vastly improved his strength – causing him to forge a career as a prizefighter at just 18.
Three years later he became a professional boxer, losing only once to London’s Benjamin Caunt, known as Big Ben.
Caunt was by far the bigger man, weighing some 40lbs more than our Bendigo.
The fight was lost when Bendigo was judged to have committed a foul by falling over without actually being struck.
This was against the rules as rounds of bare-knuckle fighting were indefinite in length, so when a boxer was hit and puts at least one knee on the mat, the round was over.
The fighter did not have a definite time period by which he had to be ready for the next round, so when a boxer was judged to have fallen without being hit it was considered a foul.
Later in his career, Bendigo briefly threw in the towel for boxing - but made a comeback to win the disputed title of champion of England from Caunt in 1845. Ironically this time it was Caunt who cheekily dropped a knee to the canvas!
Bendigo’s final fight, again won because of a foul committed by his opponent, was in 1850 - again against Ben Caunt.
Bendigo takes his unusual name from the city in Victoria, Australia.
There is a pub in Sneinton named after him – the Old Wrestlers pub was converted to Bendigo’s in 1957.
One of the city’s trams also carries the name of Bendigo Thompson.
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