Robert McCracken

McCracken worked as a wood machinist at Hoskins Cabinet Works, Bordesley, Birmingham before turning to boxing. He was affectionately known as "Boxing Bob". He represented England in the welterweight division, at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, reaching the quarter finals.[2][3]

Boxing for Birmingham City ABC, he was runner-up of the prestigious ABA light-welterweight championship in 1989.[4]

McCracken turned pro in 1991 in the super-welterweight division. In February 1994 he won the British title by outpointing Andy Till, and defended it twice, outpointing Steve "The Viking" Foster and Paul Wesley.

In November 1995, he officially moved into the middleweight division, winning the vacant Commonwealth title by outpointing Canadian southpaw Fitzgerald Bruney. He would successfully retain the title twice by beating Paul Busby and Bruney again in a rematch, before relocating to the United States in 1997 and progressing up the world rankings.

In February 1998, he achieved a notable victory outpointing Lonnie Beasley, and over the course of four fights elevated himself to #1 contender status in the WBC rankings.

In April 2000 McCracken challenged American southpaw Keith Holmes for the WBC middleweight title. The fight was the main event of the UK show that preceded Lennox Lewis's high-profile fight with Michael Grant in New York the same night. To preserve his ranking McCracken had been inactive for a year and his ring rust showed, as he fell behind early and stayed there. The referee stopped the fight in the eleventh-round.

McCracken was inactive for another year while training other boxers, before returning in April 2001 to fight highly regarded Howard Eastman, who now held the British and Commonwealth titles and a 31–0 record. The vacant European title was also on the line, however McCracken's long layoffs once again hurt him, after a close, tough fight McCracken wilted in the tenth-round to Eastman's power punching.