How good was Bomber Graham by today's standards?

Denzel Bentley (20-3-1) has echoed the achievement of Sheffield icon Herol 'Bomber' Graham, who was also a multi-times British champion at that weight.

If Battersea's Bentley, 29, can beat reigning champion Brad Pauls (19-1-1) at Wembley Arena, he'll be looking to head to elite level.

So how would Graham, an Ingle gym legend of the past, have fared against Bentley, if the two were of comparable age?

Nutrition, sports science and training techniques are all far superior these days.

And while Herol, who is now 65, was a three-time world title challenger, Denzel disputed the WBO middleweight title in 2022.

However the Sheffield fight scene has many veterans who fondly remember the Bomber brand of magic, and they are in no doubt who would win such a contest.

Glyn Rhodes, owner of Sheffield Boxing Centre, has long been an admirer of Graham, saying he did more than even Naseem Hamed in taking the city to new heights in the game.

"I’m a little biased when it comes to Bomber but I can’t see anyone touching him on his best night.

"Remember he was up there with Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Durán, and Thomas Hearns, so that in itself tells you how good he was.

"So I’m sorry but that’s what I think!"

Ryan Rhodes, of Southpaw gym in Shalesmoor, agreed: "On Herol’s day there was no one to touch him...Bentley wouldn’t have stood a chance."

Former Ingle man Amer Khan respects the Londoner, but also sides with Graham.

"Denzil is a very solid, all-round boxer, but I recall Chris Eubank Sr once said after sparring Herol: 'How can you beat a man you can’t hit?'

"Usually sport comes on in time and the athletes become better, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in boxing.

"Herol was ahead of his time in ability and I think he would box rings around the British level with ease."

And Ingle champion Esham Pickering concurred: "Denzel has done great, but there is no comparison to Herol."

Bentley and Pauls will be competing for British, European and WBO honours on the Frank Warren show.

On the same night, at the Park Community Arena, Sheffield, Izzy Asif's GBM Sports will present a 10-fight event, headlined by Danny Quartermaine v Jack Bateson.

Local eyes will be on Rotherham's Taz Nadeem, who has stopped two of three opponents in the first round.

FULL CARD Danny Quartermaine v Jack Bateson; Super featherweight Alireza Ghadiri v Nyall Berry; Super bantamweight Levi Giles v. Qais Ashfaq; Super featherweight Kieran Molloy v Robin Zamora; Welterweight Arlo Stephens v TBA; Heavyweight Taz Nadeem v Fernando Valencia; Super middleweight Amaar Akbar v. Mykhailo Sovtus Welterweight Ed Hardy v Sean Jackson; Welterweight Muhammed Ali v. Yin Caicedo; Super bantamweight.

*Artificial Intelligence isn't always right, but when we asked Gemini AI who was the best British middleweight of all time, the first name it threw up was Alan Minter.