Skip to main content
The Morning Star Shop
The Story of Brad
JOHN WIGHT writes on his time training at a boxing club in Los Angeles, brushing shoulders with Hollywood actors, and his memories of a prodigal fighter
[Arisa Chattasa / CC]

IN FEBRUARY of 1995, I arrived in Los Angeles on what was originally intended to be a two-and-a-half week holiday.

I was there eager to hook up with Brad, a friend from Edinburgh who’d decamped to LA a few months prior to progress his professional boxing career under the tutelage of Freddie Roach at his Outlaw Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Brad was an 18-year-old kid who came into the category of “a force of nature.”

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Northern Ireland's Kristina O'Hara (left) in action against India's MC Mery Kom at Oxenford Studios during day ten of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia
Women’s boxing / 18 July 2025
18 July 2025

Mary Kom’s fists made history in the boxing world. Malak Mesleh’s never got the chance. One story ends in glory, the other in grief — but both highlight the defiance of women who dare to fight, writes JOHN WIGHT

Algeria�s Imane Khelif (left) in action against Thailand�s Janjaem Suwannapheng during the Women�s 66kg Semi-Final at Roland-Garros Stadium on the Eleventh day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Tuesday August 6, 2024
Boxing / 4 July 2025
4 July 2025

The Khelif gender row shows no sign of being resolved to the satisfaction of anyone involved anytime soon, says boxing writer JOHN WIGHT

Floyd Patterson
Men’s boxing / 20 June 2025
20 June 2025

When Patterson and Liston met in the ring in 1962, it was more than a title bout — it was a collision of two black archetypes shaped by white America’s fears and fantasies, writes JOHN WIGHT

Law enforcement officers stand guard as demonstrators protest, June 11, 2025, in Los Angeles
Opinion / 13 June 2025
13 June 2025

In the land of white supremacy, colonialism and the foul legacy of the KKK, JOHN WIGHT knows that to resist the fascism unleashed by Trump is to do God’s work

Similar stories
George Foreman yells, October 15, 1974, in N'Sele, Kinshasa,
Men’s Boxing / 28 March 2025
28 March 2025
JOHN WIGHT pays tribute to the late great George Foreman who defied the odds throughout his life and career to become a household name and legend of the sport
John H. Stracey (right) who is to defend his European welter
Men’s boxing / 14 March 2025
14 March 2025
JOHN WIGHT writes about the fascinating folklore surrounding the place which has been home to some of the most ferocious bareknuckle and unlicensed fighters throughout history
Cus D'Amato (right) with Floyd Patterson in August 1957
Men's Boxing / 17 January 2025
17 January 2025
JOHN WIGHT writes on legendary boxing trainer and philosopher, Cus D’Amato
Britain's Rosie Eccles (right) and Poland's Aneta Rygielska
Boxing / 2 August 2024
2 August 2024
JOHN WIGHT writes on the controversies at the Paris Olympics, Team GB's lacklustre run at the Games, and mulls over the differences between the amateur and professional formats