Newbridge boxing club Gavin Rees shocked the world when he beat Frenchman Souleymane M'baye to win the WBA title before losing it to Andreas Kotelnik. Middleweight Gary Lockett held the lightly regarded WBU belt but achieved fame when he unsuccessfully challenged world number one Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City for the undisputed middleweight crown. Two time World Light-Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly trained at the club as an amateur and during the first three years of his professional career but left in 2008. The Newbridge Boxing Club, considering its location in such a small town, has had a disproportionate influence on the global boxing
Undisputed championship Olympic Auditorium World Heavyweight Championship. In light of having unified three of the major world heavyweight championships of his time (as well as numerous other lesser-prestige titles) and defeating the reigning AWA World Heavyweight Champion in a non-title match (a major title that was abandoned soon after), Thesz became the Undisputed Champion for some time. From that point onward, the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship (the championship belt that Thesz opted to keep as the designation of all the championships he had won) became the undisputed world heavyweight title for all contenders to seek. This, however, would change over