Overview

A self-confessed coward, Johnny Nelson hoped his opponents wouldn't turn up. He twice froze when given the chance to take the world title. Glenn McCrory declared: 'He's scared. I don't think he'll ever do it now' and even Johnny's mother mocked him. But by the time of his recent retirement, Johnny Nelson had been undefeated world cruiserweight champion for seven years. Now Johnny relates his moving, funny, frank and inspirational story: an amazing odyssey from chump to champ. Legendary trainer Brendan Ingle, who produced a string of champions including Naseem Hamed, described Nelson as 'the biggest success story from our gym.' He might have added that the skinny kid from the wrong side of Sheffield was also the least likely to succeed. Nelson had a stubborn streak. Determined not to let early failures stop him, he went into exile, taking fights all over the world to learn his craft. Finally, nine years after being booed from the ring, he earned the respect of everyone. Along the way, he encountered the dark side of boxing: the drugs, the gangsters and the gamblers who wanted him to fix fights. He fell out with his best mates Herol Graham and Naseem Hamed and for the first time reveals exactly why they no longer talk. He tells the terrifying story of a plot to kidnap him. Johnny Nelson's story will appeal beyond fight fans as a straightforward, honest account of overcoming personal fears and terrible setbacks to become the best in the world.

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9781844544301

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Johnny Nelson was born in Sheffield in January 1967. There were seven children in the family, all from different parents. After attending a recently transformed girls' school taught by nuns, he drifted into boxing to make new friends, turning professional despite being branded the worst fighter in the gym. After a series of setbacks, including two disastrous world title failures, he finally became world champion in 1999 and retired in 2006, his crown still intact. Johnny is now starting a new career in the media and still lives in Sheffield with his wife Debbie, their two daughters and a string of horses. Richard Coomber is a freelance sports journalist in Yorkshire, whose previous books include Give Me a Ring, the autobiography of boxing referee Mickey Vann, and King John, a life of John Charles. After a gap-year that stretched to 40 years, he is now also studying for a degree in local history at Leeds University.

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