Irish author Jamie Boyle has written all about Junior Witter’s life in and out of the ring in a powerful biography entitled ‘The Avoided’.
Nicknamed ‘The Hitter’, the Bradfordian won 43 of his 53 professional fights, with the peak of his career coming in September 2006, when he defeated American Demarcus Corley at the Alexandra Palace to become light-welterweight world champion.
That title had been vacated by the great Floyd Mayweather Jr, and Witter put up two successful defences of the belt, before losing it Timothy Bradley in May 2008.
Earlier in his career, Witter became British, Commonwealth and European light-welterweight champion.
Junior Witter had many memorable nights in his career in the ring, with 43 professional wins to his name. (Image: NQ Staff)
Remarkably, he returned to the ring, after an 18-month hiatus, in February 2011, before winning the British Welterweight title in May 2012 at the age of 38.
Boyle writes: “The Avoided is ultimately an incredibly fitting description loop of Bradford’s Junior ‘The Hitter’ Witter.
“He was a brash, stylish, elusive, hard-hitting switch-hitter who was a nightmare for his opponents.
“Always a man of few words, ‘The Hitter’ did his talking in the ring.
“Whether you loved or loathed him, it was impossible to ignore him, he was quite possibly British boxing’s most misunderstood fighter of his generation.
“This exclusive biography reveals how Junior went from a curious 10-year-old, who only got involved with boxing because he could hit people and get away with it, to a great competitor who went on to complete the sport at every level as a professional.
Junior Witter throws his support behind Sutton-in-Craven youngster Charlie Darkins at a Valley Parade boxing show in 2019. (Image: UGC)
“Read about Junior’s career under the guidance of the great Brendan Ingle, becoming Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather’s No.1 mandatory and of course why the mega-showdown with long-term rival Ricky Hatton never came off.
“In boxing, there is always a good guy and a bad guy, and Junior was boxing’s favourite pantomime villain.”
The book is available for £19.95 on Amazon, with the Kindle version £7.95.
The documentary about the life and times of Witter, which will feature the man himself, as well as the likes of Kell Brook and Johnny Nelson, commences filming next month.