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<\/p>\nFormer opponents remember fighter with ‘smile on his face’ who was as ‘tough as a backdoor being kicked in by police’<\/p>\n
Former boxer Paul Wesley has died aged 63.<\/p>\n
Birmingham has lost one of its true boxing warriors following the death last week of Paul Wesley aged 63.<\/p>\n
In truth, the news wasn\u2019t unexpected. I was aware Paul, who fought for the British light-middleweight title, was engaged in a grim battle with illness.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t lessen the impact of the message.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: “I looked my son’s killer in the eyes and he laughed – there’s no justice”<\/a><\/p>\n The city has lost an old-school gladiator who, in a 71 bout, 16-year career, faced an unbelievable, seemingly never-ending stream of truly top fighters.<\/p>\n His CV is a who\u2019s who of champions, filled with such illustrious names as Rod Douglas, Wally Swift Jnr, who outpointed him for the Midlands belt, Neville Brown, Tony Collins, Antonio Fernandez \u2013 they met for the Midlands middleweight belt – world champ Sumbu Kalamby, Chris Pyatt, Howard Eastman, Harry Simon, Geoff McCreesh, Tony Dodson, David Starie, Glenn Catley, Steve Collins\u2026<\/p>\n He held a stand-out, one round win over future British champ Neville Brown in 1991. Brown stopped Paul three months later. He fought for the Midlands title four times.<\/p>\n In his biggest bout, Paul lost on points to fellow Brummie Robert McCracken, with the Lonsdale Belt on the line, at Aston Villa Leisure Centre in 1995.<\/p>\n Film buffs have seen Paul on the big screen and not realised it. He featured in the 1997 Daniel Day-Lewis film, The Boxer.<\/p>\n His is a record crammed with the names of British, even world, titleholders. You have to be a very hard man to swim and survive in such deep waters.<\/p>\n Paul, who turned to the car repair trade after boxing, was a hard man, but never surly.<\/p>\n