| Herol Graham | |
| Nickname: | Bomber[1] |
| Weight: | |
| Height: | 5 ft 11+1/2 in |
| Reach: | 77 in |
| Nationality: | British |
| Birth Date: | 1959 9, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Style: | Southpaw |
| Total: | 54 |
| Wins: | 48 |
| Ko: | 28 |
| Losses: | 6 |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Herol Graham (born 13 September 1959) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. A three-time world title challenger, he is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era to have never won a world championship.[2] He beat Champions Lindell Holmes, Ayub Kalule and Vinny Pazienza.
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
In 1978, after winning the ABA middleweight title, Graham turned professional, fighting out of Brendan Ingle's gym in the Wincobank area of Sheffield.
Graham went undefeated in his first 38 fights, 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 a punch to the back of McCallum's head ended up costing Graham the verdict. A year later, in another world title challenge, he lost to Julian Jackson for the vacant WBC middleweight title. After outclassing Jackson for nearly 4 rounds, Graham was knocked out cold before he hit the canvas by the now-famous devastating right cross known as the 'Punch of the Century'.
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.[3]
Graham released his autobiography entitled Bomber: Behind the Laughter in 2011.
Graham has ongoing mental health issues from boxing injuries.[1]
Graham's parents are Jamaican.[4]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Loss | 48–6 | Charles Brewer | TKO | 10 (12) | 28 Mar 1998 | |||
| 53 | Win | 48–5 | Vinny Pazienza | UD | 12 | 6 Dec 1997 | |||
| 52 | Win | 47–5 | Chris Johnson | TKO | 8 (12), | 12 Jul 1997 | |||
| 51 | Win | 46–5 | Craig Joseph | PTS | 8 | 4 Mar 1997 | |||
| 50 | Win | 45–5 | Terry Ford | PTS | 8 | 26 Nov 1996 | |||
| 49 | Loss | 44–5 | Frank Grant | TKO | 9 (12), | 23 Sep 1992 | |||
| 48 | Loss | 44–4 | Sumbu Kalambay | UD | 12 | 12 Mar 1992 | |||
| 47 | Win | 44–3 | John Ashton | TKO | 6 (12), | 10 Dec 1991 | |||
| 46 | Loss | 43–3 | Julian Jackson | KO | 4 (12), | 24 Nov 1990 | |||
| 45 | Win | 43–2 | Ismael Negron | KO | 3 (10), | 11 Apr 1990 | |||
| 44 | Win | 42–2 | Rod Douglas | RTD | 9 (12) | 25 Oct 1989 | |||
| 43 | Loss | 41–2 | Mike McCallum | 12 | 10 May 1989 | ||||
| 42 | Win | 41–1 | Johnny Melfah | TKO | 5 (12) | 23 Nov 1988 | |||
| 41 | Win | 40–1 | James Cook | TKO | 5 (12) | 8 Jun 1988 | |||
| 40 | Win | 39–1 | Ricky Stackhouse | TKO | 8 (10), | 5 Dec 1987 | |||
| 39 | Loss | 38–1 | Sumbu Kalambay | 12 | 26 May 1987 | ||||
| 38 | Win | 38–0 | Charles Boston | TKO | 7 (10) | 17 Jan 1987 | |||
| 37 | Win | 37–0 | Mark Kaylor | RTD | 8 (12) | 4 Nov 1986 | |||
| 36 | Win | 36–0 | Ernie Rabotte | TKO | 1 (10), | 23 Jun 1986 | |||
| 35 | Win | 35–0 | Ayub Kalule | TKO | 10 (12), | 5 Feb 1986 | |||
| 34 | Win | 34–0 | Sanderline Williams | PTS | 10 | 3 Dec 1985 | |||
| 33 | Win | 33–0 | Roberto Justino Ruiz | TKO | 2 (10), | 16 Oct 1985 | |||
| 32 | Win | 32–0 | Jimmy Price | KO | 1 (12) | 24 Apr 1985 | |||
| 31 | Win | 31–0 | Rose Rosemain | KO | 5 (10), | 6 Mar 1985 | |||
| 30 | Win | 30–0 | Liam Coleman | TKO | 3 (8), | 26 Nov 1984 | |||
| 29 | Win | 29–0 | Jose Seys | TKO | 6 (10), | 16 Oct 1984 | |||
| 28 | Win | 28–0 | Irving Hines | KO | 2 (10) | 25 Sep 1984 | |||
| 27 | Win | 27–0 | Lindell Holmes | TKO | 5 (10) | 22 Jul 1984 | |||
| 26 | Win | 26–0 | Germain Le Maitre | TKO | 8 (12) | 9 Dec 1983 | |||
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Carlos Betancourt | KO | 1 (10) | 11 Oct 1983 | |||
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Clement Tshinza | 2 (12), | 23 May 1983 | ||||
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Tony Nelson | RTD | 5 (10) | 15 Mar 1983 | |||
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Hunter Clay | PTS | 15 | 30 Sep 1982 | |||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Fred Coranson | PTS | 10 | 22 Apr 1982 | |||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Chris Christian | TKO | 9 (15), | 24 Feb 1982 | |||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Kenny Bristol | PTS | 15 | 25 Nov 1981 | |||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Prince Rodney | TKO | 1 (10), | 17 Jun 1981 | |||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Pat Thomas | PTS | 15 | 24 Mar 1981 | |||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Lancelot Innis | PTS | 10 | 22 Jan 1981 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Larry Mayes | TKO | 4 (10), | 30 Oct 1980 | |||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Joey Mack | PTS | 8 | 9 Sep 1980 | |||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | George Danahar | PTS | 8 | 22 Apr 1980 | |||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Glen McEwan | PTS | 8 | 12 Feb 1980 | |||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Errol McKenzie | PTS | 8 | 27 Nov 1979 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Billy Ahearne | TKO | 3 (8) | 27 Oct 1979 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Lloyd James | PTS | 8 | 26 Sep 1979 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Gordon George | PTS | 8 | 16 May 1979 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Mac Nicholson | PTS | 8 | 27 Apr 1979 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | George Walker | PTS | 8 | 27 Mar 1979 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Dave Southwell | PTS | 8 | 28 Feb 1979 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Dave Southwell | PTS | 8 | 12 Feb 1979 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jimmy Roberts | 2 (6) | 22 Jan 1979 | ||||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Curtis Marsh | 1 (6) | 4 Dec 1978 | ||||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Vivian Waite | 6 | 28 Nov 1978 |