Spencer Oliver grew up in Barnet and represented England in the bantamweight division at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada and won a silver medal.

From 1995 to 1998, Spencer competed as a professional. When he defeated Bulgaria’s Martin Krastev in May 1997 he became the European (EBU) super bantamweight champion. He held onto the title for a year, defending it on three occasions with wins over Serge Poilblan, Vincenzo Belcastro and Fabrice Benichou.

In May 1998 he sought to defend his title again with a bout against Sergey Devakov at Royal Albert Hall in London, which ended with Spencer suffering life-threatening injuries. Two minutes into the 10th round, Oliver was felled by a right hook and was counted out, the first loss of his career. It then became apparent that Spencer was seriously injured, a blot clot had formed in his brain, caused by a blood vessel that had been torn from a blow he received earlier in the fight. Spencer’s cutman, Eddie Carter, is credited for saving his life, by instructing the paramedics to sedate the boxer in order to minimise the damage. Thankfully Spencer underwent a successful operation to remove the blood clot.]

Spencer now works as a pundit for Sky Sports and runs a boxing school in Edgware and has become an inspiration to boxers.