GREAT PALS: The death of Nickels [right] is a shock for Holland
BRIAN “SONNY” NICKELS, a former pro boxer and stuntman described as “a real north-west London legend” by those who knew him, died suddenly of natural causes last Tuesday (January 16). He was 54.
The son of a well-known Kilburn publican, Brian came from fighting stock – his cousin, Gary Nickels, was a superfeatherweight pro in the Seventies and Eighties – and boxed as an amateur under the guidance of Pat Wilson at Northolt ABC before going pro with Mickey Duff in 1985. He was 20 when he turned over and would go on to rack up a record of 16-4 (7). His final fight, in 1989, was a disqualification loss against Winston Spencer in a Southern Area super-lightweight title fight.