Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham was born in Nottingham, England in 1958 and is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era never to have won a world title.
After winning the ABA light-middleweight title he turned professional in 1978 fighting out of Brendan Ingle’s gym in the Wincobank area of Sheffield.
He went 38 fights undefeated, winning the British, Commonwealth and European Light-Middleweight titles and the British and European Middlewight titles. He eventually lost his unbeaten record in a European Middleweight Title defence to future world champion Sumbu Kalambay in 1987. Herol fought for world titles three times at Middleweight and Super-Middleweight. In his first attempt, he gave the respected champion Mike McCallum one of his hardest defences, losing a close decision. Points deducted for low blows cost him the verdict. A year later, in another world title challenge, he lost to feared puncher Julian Jackson after out-boxing him and nearly stopping him. The one punch that knocked Herol knocked him out cold, before he hit the canvas.
Four years of inactivity were followed by an unexpected comeback. Herol put together a series of impressive victories to gain a last shot at a world title in March 1998. Challenging American Charles Brewer for the IBF super middleweight title he was stopped in the tenth round. He then retired from the ring and now lives in the Dore area of Sheffield, working as a Personal Trainer at a local gym, specialising in boxing based exercises.
