JAN 2026

Thankfully, Nelson did stick with it and over the within five years, he clocked up 21 victories and won the cruiserweight Central Area title, the European strap and the coveted British belt, with enough defences to enter the history books as a winner of the Lonsdale belt, outright. Nelson described the value he put on the British strap. “If I’m honest with you, I never thought I’d be a Central Area champion! Then when I boxed for the British title and won it, one of the lads from the gym, called Jed said, ‘I’ve never seen a Lonsdale belt. Can I hold it?’ My dad had it on his lap and he was so proud of it as we’re all coming back on the bus from Finsbury Park, (after defeating Andy Straughn on 21 May 1989), having fought on the undercard of Nigel Benn versus Michael Watson, as chief support. I said to dad, ‘Can I give it to Jed to hold? We’ll get it back in the morning.’ I look back now and remember the disappointment on his face as I handed it to Jed and looking back, I feel really bad now.

“I always had imposter syndrome, but when I defended it, that’s when I actually believed I was the best fighter in Britain. When I beat Jimmy Thunder in Australia in 1993 for the world WBF heavyweight title, I knew I wasn’t the best heavyweight in the world, but whenever I won something at cruiserweight, I truly believed I was the best in my division. After that first British defence, that was certainly the case.”

Despite attempts at various versions of the world title, Nelson had to settle for the WBF strap, which basically meant, in the media’s eyes, he wasn’t a true champion. By the time he fought Carl Thompson on 27 Match 1999 for his WBO cruiserweight title, Nelson had amassed 32 victories, yet 12 losses, one draw and had been boxing for 10 years as a pro. Nelson recalled the build-up to the Thompson fight and his immoveable mind-set. “To be honest, I couldn’t see how I could lose to Carl Thompson and I was a big fan of his. Funny story. I actually bumped into Carl in a club in Warrington before we’d even thought about fighting and I had a girlfriend at the time and I think he was trying to chat her up or something. She said, ‘I was speaking to a guy over there who said he’s a boxer. His name is Carl Thompson.’ I said, ‘Point him out.’ She pointed over and I thought, ‘He’s a really good dancer!’

“Up to this point, a lot of people didn’t know I existed or respected me, because I’d already boxed for a world title in 1990 and drew (against Carlos De Leon for the WBC cruiserweight strap), when I was a man in a boy’s body. People thought I was a cowardly custard, because they listened to the narrative. So, when it came to fighting Carl Thompson, I wasn’t on anybody’s radar.

“There were guys at my gym who were former world kickboxing champions, similar to Carl. One day, I was coming out of the gym and Pele Reid and another fighter asked me, ‘Do you think you’ll beat him?’ I said, ‘Yeah. I can’t see how I lose to him.’ They started reeling off all his achievements in boxing and kickboxing and how amazingly fit and strong he was, and how devastating his punch power was. Then not long after, me and Brendan were driving off to somewhere and I asked, ‘Brend. Can I ask you something?’ He’s said, ‘What?’ I explained what the lads had just said about Carl, but that I just couldn’t see it. I said, ‘What are they seeing in him that can beat me?’ He started laughing and said, ‘Johnny. You don’t have to look at it from their point of view. As long as you see it from yours, that’s all that matters. You keep that same mind-set.’

“Leading up to that fight, not for one second, minute, hour or day before the fight, did I ever think I was going to lose. Carl had beaten Chris Eubank twice and I remember Brendan saying, ‘If Chris wins, you won’t get a world title shot,’ because I’d already sparred Chris and had him all over the place, because, as far as he was concerned, I was a bigger version of Herol Graham, who he couldn’t touch. The difference was, I hit harder.

“On the night of the fight, I loved every single second if it, apart from the knockout in the fifth, which didn’t satisfy me. I’d put him down the round before, but Carl got back up again. So, going into the fifth, I wanted to make a statement, but I didn’t hit him that hard and didn’t think the referee should have stopped it when he did.”

Nelson not only became the new WBO world cruiserweight champion, but he remained undefeated for the next six and a half years, defending his world title 15 times, including going on the road to Denmark, America, Germany and Italy. From amateur failure to pro false starts, one man always believed in him. “Nobody would have ever thought I would become world champion, apart from Brendan. When he said that to me, I thought, ‘He’s an absolute nut job,’ backing a kid who lost 10 of his 13 amateur fights and lost his first three pro fights. But Brendan had that belief and he was right. It also gave me great joy to silence the naysayers who thought Brendan was speaking nonsense about me and instead gave him the credit he deserved.”

Nelson retired in 2006 after a knee injury sustained during sparring, then entered the world of punditry, embracing it with great success. However, one accolade which needs mentioning, is his MBE in 2023 for services to boxing and to young people in South Yorkshire. The pride of Sheffield explained the value of said award. “It meant a hell of a lot to me, because, when Brendan was alive he said, ‘I want to nominate you for an MBE for all the charity and community work you do alongside me.’ I said, ‘No. I don’t want it.’ He said, ‘You’re an idiot.’ I said, ‘Brendan, I’m not you. You are a good man. I don’t deserve it.’ Roll forward to 2023 and I got a letter to say I’d been nominated for the award. I thought, ‘The reason I got this is because of Brendan, for what he did and for what he made me do and moulded me into.’ He was positively brainwashing me.