Standing in victory

A statue of a boxer in Newport on the Riverfront standing in a beautiful sunrise, holding up His championship belt

David "Bomber" Pearce (8 May 1959 – 20 May 2000) was a British heavyweight 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 22 professional bouts, losing three, with one drawn. He won two of his unlicensed bouts, losing one.
Pearce was born in Pillgwenlly, 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.[2]

He boxed out of St Josephs ABC in Pillgwenlly, 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, 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 2,500 people attended his funeral in Newport at Stow Hill Cemetery.