David "Bomber" Pearce (8 May 1959 – 20 May 2000) was a Welsh

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxing champion. Also known as the Welsh Rocky, Pearce held both the Welsh and the British heavyweight titles and held the number one WBC cruiserweight ranking from September 1983 to September 1985. In all he won 19 (15 KO) of his 24 bouts, losing four, with one drawn. He won two of his unlicensed bouts, losing one.

Biographical details

Pearce was born in Newport, Monmouthshire on 8 May 1959. He was one of nine children: seven brothers, six of whom boxed professionally and one who was a professional dancer, and two sisters. His mother was a relative of Bob Fitzsimmons. He boxed out of St Josephs ABC in Newport and coached junior and senior boxers at Alway ABC in Newport before his death. Soon after his final unsanctioned boxing fight in 1994, in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Pearce became seriously ill, in later years developing

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. There was no specific evidence that this had been brought on by repeated blows to the head, but he immediately retired from boxing on medical advice. He died 7 years later, at the age of 41, due to SADS ( sudden adult death syndrome). The '' South Wales Argus'' described him as "Newport's most famous boxer." Around 2,500 people attended his funeral in Newport at Stow Hill Cemetery.

Boxing career achievements

* Pearce won the Welsh and British heavyweight boxing titles in September 1983. * Pearce challenged for the prestigious EBU European heavyweight title against Felipe Rodriguez and Lucien Rodriguez. * Pearce was ranked as high as number seven in the WBA heavyweight world rankings before his career was cut short. * Pearce was ranked number one in the WBC cruiserweight rankings after his victory against Michael "Jack" Johnson, in a WBC final eliminator in 1984. * Pearce was scheduled to fight Buster Douglas in

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, USA but was pulled out on three hours' notice. Donnie Long replaced Pearce. * Pearce was medically retired in 1984, at the age of 24. * Pearce came 2nd in the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1983. * Steve Lillis, boxing journalist and co-presenter of Box-Nation, voted David 'Bomber' Pearce in his top ten most underrated British boxing champions ( Lonsdale Belt Holders) of all time.

Welsh & British heavyweight titles

* Pearce suffered two setbacks on his road to the British title. A loss to Neville Meade when still only 20 and to John Rafferty. Pearce had knocked down Rafferty four times before he was disqualified in the 3rd round for punching after the referee had called break. * Pearce fought in a scheduled WBC eliminator and defeated Dennis Andries, the future three times WBC world light heavyweight world champion, in the 7th round. Dennis Andries went six years before being stopped again, this time by

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Detroit, Motor City Cobra", and more famously "the Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and long arms and shoulders al ...

in the 10th round. * Pearce, challenged and vowed to avenge his loss to Neville Meade to win the Welsh and British heavyweight titles. * Pearce won the Welsh and British heavyweight boxing titles in September 1983 at the St David's Hall against Commonwealth gold medallist and British heavyweight champion Neville Meade. Although the Welsh title was won on the night, the title had to be relinquished by Pearce, due to his commitments of becoming British heavyweight champion.

European Heavyweight Title (EBU)

* David Pearce earned a draw with Felipe Rodriquez whilst fighting the EBU heavyweight title challenger. * Pearce lost his title fight for the European Heavyweight Title against Lucien Rodriguez who had won 14 of his last 15 fights after earning the number one EBU ranking.

Unsanctioned bouts

Pearce won two (both knockouts) of his three unlicensed bouts. Pearce took a fight with Percell Davis of Detroit at two days' notice but was stopped in the eighth round. Pearce later had a second wind after sparring against

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...

who was in preparation for the Lewis– Glenn McCrory fight and decided to train once more for his final comeback in California, USA. Pearce wanted to go out on a high after his unprepared previous trip to the states and trained diligently with his brother Gary Pearce. In 1994 Pearce competed in two bouts that took place in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. In his first bout he fought Mary Konate and in his second bout he fought the former heavyweight world champion John Tate. The '' South Wales Argus'' and the Californian press likened Pearce to the fighter Philo Beddoe, who was portrayed in the films '' Every Which Way but Loose'' and '' Any Which Way You Can''.

Professional boxing record / Unsanctioned bouts

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Pearce Brothers

* Walter 'Bimbo' Pearce the eldest son of Wally Pearce was a professional boxer, Bimbo won 5 amateur titles from Light Welterweight to Heavyweight including beating 4 British champions in bouts during the ABA exile. * Raymond Pearce, a middleweight who notably fought Winston Burnett, and the future three times WBC world Light Heavyweight champion Dennis Andries. A United States citizen, he worked as an

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across the world and died, on the 1 January 2022, in

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, United States. * Gary Pearce had thirty-one professional bouts, including winning the Welsh Area Super Welterweight title and facing Hans Henrick-Palm the World number 5 in Randers, Denmark in 1981. * Ronald Pearce fought Paul Wetter and Robert Smith the now BBBoC General secretary. * Nigel Pearce had five fights as a professional boxer. * Simon Pearce the seventh brother graduated from

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and subsequently went on to star in ''

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

'', ''Cats'', ''Les Misérables'' and ''

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'' musicals in the West End.

Gallery

File:David_Pearce_Boxer_3_yrs.jpeg, Pearce aged 3 File:David_'Bomber'_Pearce_1.jpeg, David 'Bomber' Pearce File:St Josephs Amateur Boxing Club, Newport.jpg, St Josephs Amateur Boxing Club, George Street, Newport File:David_Pearce_Boxer_Contract.jpeg, Boxing contract File:Walter_'Bimbo'_Pearce.jpeg, Bimbo Pearce defeating the Central Light-Heavyweight Champion File:David_Pearce_at_Newport_County_AFC.jpeg, Pearce at Newport County AFC File:David_Pearce_Boxer.jpeg, Pearce turning professional File:David_'Bomber'_Pearce_Oil_Painting.jpeg, Oil painting of Pearce File:David 'Bomber' Pearce sculpture 1.jpg, Sculpture near Riverfront, Newport File:David 'Bomber' Pearce sculpture 2.jpg, Dedication plaque for sculpture File:David 'Bomber' Pearce sculpture 4.jpg, Sculpture near Riverfront, Newport

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, David Bomber 1959 births 2000 deaths Welsh male boxers Sportspeople from Newport, Wales Heavyweight boxers