David Pearce

Boxing News, the UK's biggest boxing magazine, supported the campaign for a Pearce statue. In 2016 The David 'Bomber' Pearce Statue Fund was given permission to erect a bronze sculpture to commemorate Pearce in Newport City Centre. On the 9 June 2018 a life-sized sculpture of Pearce, by Laury Dizengremel, was unveiled at Newport riverfront.

Soon after his final unsanctioned boxing fight in 1994, in California, Pearce became seriously ill, in later years developing epilepsy. 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 2,000 people attended his funeral in Newport at Stow Hill Cemetery.

Pearce later had a second wind and decided to train for 6 months in his final comeback in America after his unprepared previous trip to the states. David "Bomber" Pearce knocked out John Tate, and Mary Konate, in 1 and 3 rounds respectively, in unsanctioned bouts in Bakersfield, California in 1994. This was reported by Mr John Francis of the South Wales Argus.

He held both the Welsh and the British Heavyweight titles and held the number one World Cruiserweight ranking from September 1983 to September 1985. In all he won 17 (13 KO) of his 21 professional bouts, losing 3 with 1 drawn. He also won 2 (2 KO) of his 3 unsanctioned boxing bouts.

Pearce was seen as the first real Cruiserweight from Great Britain, but due to the British Boxing Board of Control reluctance to recognise the division, he was unable to fight for the WBA Cruiserweight title in 1983 after signing the contracts with promoter Morgans Palle. Subsequently the BBBoC recognised the Cruiserweight division in 1985, one year after Pearce was forced to retire on medical grounds. David Pearce was voted, in The Ring magazine, in the top ten of unluckiest boxers never to win a World title. Pearce defeated a number of top heavyweights, by knockout, in his career, including Mal Tetley, Bobby Hennessey, Winston Allen, Denton Ruddock, Theo Josephs, Larry McDonald, Ishaq Hussain, Dennis Andries, Gordon Ferris, Albert Syben, Neville Meade and John Tate. The tragedy of Pearce is that he was medically retired when just entering his physical prime.

Commissioned oil painting of David 'Bomber' Pearce the former undefeated Welsh, and British Heavyweight Champion 1983-85

Pearce, known as 'The Welsh Rocky', was one of a quartet of exciting British heavyweights in the 1980s, along with Frank Bruno, John L. Gardner and Noel Quarless, who held out the possibility of a future British heavyweight world champion.

David 'Bomber' Pearce (8 May 1959 – 20 May 2000) was a British heavyweight boxing champion.