FLASHBACK to 2006 and Bradford boxer Junior Witter was preparing for the biggest night of his life.

Only six years earlier, the Bradfordian had fallen short in his first world title attempt on a Mike Tyson undercard, but Witter (formerly known as the 'Hitter') the chance to make a statement comeback in his second world title fight against DeMarcus Corley.

A unanimous decision crowned Witter WBC world champion, a feat that had not been achieved by a British fighter since Lennox Lewis collected the heavyweight version almost a decade previously.

Not only that, Witter was the first and only world champion to come out of Bradford, an amazing acknowledgement for an amazing fighter.

He dedicated the victory to his former trainer Alec Allen, who had dragged him off the streets to begin his journey at the Bradford Police Boys Club.

It was a discussion with the late Allen which gave Witter the motivation to turn to coaching after his retirement, where he now coaches a number of talented youngsters from the South Yorkshire region.

He said: "I always knew it was something I was destined to do after my retirement from the sport.

"I remember Alec Allen, my old trainer saying that when you finish from boxing, remember to give back to the people and I told him that I definitely would.

"I've had his influence, I've had Brendan Ingle's influence and you've got to give back to the people that helped you and give back to the sport.

"I'm doing that and I'm a proud boxing coach."

Witter's last professional fight came in 2015 but he officially retired in 2018, resulting in a final record of 43-8-2.

One of his fighters, Dom Hunt, moved on to his ninth professional victory on Saturday at Sheffield Arena, fighting on the undercard of Galahad v Martinez-a huge stage for any fighter.

And Witter admitted that seeing his fighters fight on that kind of stage does bring that buzz back for him.

He said: "Being at an event like that on Saturday does make you miss fighting, but you have to know who you are, what you are and you also have to be realistic.

"Of course the buzz is going to be there, but realistically I'm done.

"It would have been nice to be able to continue (fighting), but I don't have the time to put the effort in and I haven't got the reactions I used to have.

"Your timing goes, your power goes and everything is slightly off. It's frustrating as an athlete to continue when you are way below what you used to be."

Asked if an exhibition match is on the cards, the Bradford man jokingly responded: "Against the right opponent I could definitely do it, but it's not something I'm looking towards.

"I'm just going to continue training and managing my fighters. I've got my own gym up in Rotherham, I've got a number of coaches who are learning from me and I've got a number of talented fighters coming through, so that's my first goal."