Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham: Back in ring after hardest fight of all

Watching the recent Moscow World Athletics Championships it was hard to miss Sebastian – Lord these days – Coe’s reminiscing over the epic 1980 Olympic battles in the same stadium with Steve Ovett.

Like myself Coe was, whisper it quietly, a fanatical Chelsea FC fan living in Sheffield, and in love with the vast swathes of countryside surrounding the Steel City that provided us sporty types with a myriad of opportunities to run free. Coe was a southerner, but very much a favoured adopted son of the city. For the remainder of the decade he had one other major rival in the city who could also attest to being The Greatest. He was a boxer. Originally from Nottinghamshire. Herol Graham. Or simply “Bomber” to his many admirers.

Fast forward nearly 30 years to Notting Hill, West London. Graham, who recently celebrated his 54th birthday, is once again centre stage in a boxing ring, lowering his guard and mischieviously telling anyone gloving up: “You’ve got no chance of hitting me. No chance.”

The only person here who might get close is Stewart Nubley, a fellow ex-boxer, who also happens to be Graham’s guardian, partner-in-crime, confidante, business partner and most crucial of all...best friend and daily saviour.

As Graham is constantly called away for more mini bouts with stress-riddled bankers and their perfectly-upholstered other halves, Nubley takes over.

“He’s struggled for a while,” he says of his old friend. “Bomber was definitely pound for pound the country’s best boxer for many years. But basically it’s pretty rubbish the way the sport treats it’s former heroes. I think 10 per cent of every fight purse should go into a trust fund that can’t be touched by the boxer until he retires.

“So now we take this portable boxing gym on the road in the UK and ask people to get in the ring and knock us out. Well, try to at least hit us anyway. We do actually let them pound our sides, not faces. We just do it for a laugh but make decent money and get to take boxing to the masses... even to wealthy folk like those here tonight.”

Graham’s ultimate trademark was his speed and an ability to dodge a punch. Tonight he’s lost little of both. He could be back in the pubs of Sheffield 30 years ago charging punters a pound a time to try and hit him.

“Three days a week Stewart and I are running the All Stars Gym on Harrow Road in London.” he explains. “They’ve had everybody from Mike Tyson to Ricky Hatton train there over the years. If we are not there running classes and keeping kids off the street in a fairly deprived part of West London, Stewart and I are round the corner working closely with The Library in Notting Hill running boxing classes.

“The two couldn’t be more different really,” he reflects.

“The Library is probably the most exclusive and private bespoke gym of it’s kind to 
emerge in the last year. Even Jeremy Piven who plays Mr Selfridge on ITV comes in 
to box.

“Doing a boxing showcase at The Library like tonight we have had wives of city bankers earning millions climbing in to the ring in their summer dresses trying to knock us out. All great fun.”

Modest as he might be – he is introduced to the crowd as ‘Herol’ as these days he’s lost his more famous stage moniker – Bomber is engagingly candid away from the ring.

As he catches his breath, he fills in what’s happened not just in the last few years, but during the three decades since he was fighting for world titles.

“Shhhhhuuuuuush,” he whispers in to the dictaphone as I tell The Library’s founder Zana Morris just how phenomenal he was considered to be by his boxing peers.

At his height he was one of, if not the very best in the world.

The anguish that also surrounded those glory days has evaporated. He doesn’t need to win fights anymore. Just his own against depression.

Zana, like the rest of us here tonight, are won over by the boyish exuberance, the almost child-like, playfulness Graham brings to any social gathering. YouTube clips of his fights reveal his true greatness, but it’s the here and now that counts. And he very nearly missed that count.

I remind him that for a long time to many Sheffield schoolboys he was their ultimate sporting hero. He was the one local sportsman everyone wanted to meet and have their photograph with.

For a while he seemed untouchable, but then as with so many sportsmen, his life seemed to unravel and the stories coming out of the Bomber camp seemed to confirm that the boxer was struggling.

Nubley lands a playful glove on his ear. And then Graham finally relaxes and talks in details how he tried to kill himself.

“I was suffering from depression,” he says. “I got a divorce and it just stressed me out at the same time as I had finished with the professional boxing. One night I tried to kill myself – slashing myself so as not to wake in the morning – but the girlfriend I’m still with now saved me.

“Over 25 years ago we had wanted to get married. Then life, other partners, children, got in the way. We live in Muswell Hill in North London now. Life’s come full circle. I owe her for saving me. And Stewart too. He’s been brilliant for me. We work together, we laugh together. We need each other I guess.”

“I moved to London about four years ago now. Brendan (Ingle)’s gym (responsible for his old flat mate Johnny Nelson as well as World Champ Naseem Hamed) still carries on near Wincobank in Sheffield. I need to go back this year or next and check it out. Sheffield is still in my heart. I’m Sheffield through and through. But I had to leave. There are many good memories but too many recent bad ones associated with the place. I had to get out. I was dying there inside. I had to leave.”

The roadshow with Nubley is, seriously, brilliant. A hit in every sense. Enormous fun and three hours fly by.

Both natural-born entertainers, Graham is the fall guy to Nubley’s straight man. After an hour, Graham, dripping in sweat, has won over everyone in the place with his charm.

The well-heeled (predominantly white, be-jewelled) middle aged women who should really know better have all checked his astonishing abs in person. Some of them twice.

He returns their astonished reactions by placing one of his Lonsdale belts around them for as many photos as they’d like. His grin is magical and wide. This all seemed so far away just a few short years ago.

“I’m going to have my own gym – which will have boxing lessons too – in London soon, that’s my goal and of course I won’t forget Stewart. He’ll be my partner.

“We both recognise that boxing has come out of the, well, gutter really.

“These days a lot of white-collar men and women want to box as a form of stress relief.

“Look at these people here at The Library, they really enjoy the boxing classes Stewart and I provide. That’s the niche we will fill. Are filling.”

As we say our goodbyes I produce a promotional postcard he had signed for me in biro 30 years previously.

Graham points out that on the back of the postcard there is a mention in bold type for the jewellery shop he was once involved in. It opened in the old bustling Sheaf Market, but in time honoured boxing tradition the venture cost him a fortune.

“Well some things get knocked down and can’t get back back up on their feet,” he reflects.

It’s the perfect metaphor for a perfect evening with one of the sport’s gentlemen who is finding out about life and himself after dark, dark days.

He grabs a permanent marker pen and writes on the postcard: “After all these years it’s great to meet up.”

He signs it “Bomber” even though he’s not used the name all night.

But it’s in permanent ink this time. Thankfully.

Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham’s story

Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham was born in Nottingham on September 13, 1959.

Having moved to Sheffield, he quickly made his mark on the world of boxing.

At the height of his powers, Graham went 38 fights undefeated, winning the British, Commonwealth and European Light-Middleweight titles and the British and European Middlewight titles.

However, a world title eluded him and he fought his last professional bout in 1998.

For anyone interested in finding out more about Herol Graham’s latest projects go to www.thelibrarygym.com or www.allstars-gym.co.uk