Mike Lockley catches up with former British champion Hugh Forde who used to work feats of magic to boil down in weight
IN the days deprived of dieticians, nutritionists and day before weigh-ins, when removing stubborn pounds was a slog of starvation and saunas, not a science, Hugh Forde somehow managed to boil his long body down to super-featherweight.
The sacrifices were torturous, draining and, frankly, dangerous. Yet Hugh, near freakishly tall for the 9st 4lb division at 5ft 10ins, retained the skills and strength to win British and Commonwealth titles.
Harrowing stories about Hugh’s struggle with the scales still abound in Birmingham boxing circles. Hugh, now 56 and a Royal Mail worker, is not a part of the current fight scene and, to an extent, is Birmingham’s forgotten British champ.