At 52 years of age, Dewey Bozella won his first and only boxing match on the undercard of what was supposed to be a huge fight between Bernard the Executioner Hopkins and Chad Dawson.

But it was Dewey who stole the headlines. At 52, he pummeled his much younger opponent and won a unanimous points decision. Not bad for a 52-year-old and an achievement in itself, one would say.

But Dewey Bozella is not an ordinary man. In 1977, Emma Crapser was murdered in her New York apartment. Prosecutors claimed that Crapser walked in on a burglary being committed by Bozella, then 18, who then killed her.

In 1983, Bozella was convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, based on the testimony of others. Throughout his incarceration at the notorious Sing Sing prison, Bozella maintained his innocence, even when invited to plea bargain, admit guilt and be released. He refused to admit to something he did not do. Then in October 2009, Dewey Bozella was released, after prosecution witnesses admitted that they had fabricated a story. Lawyers also found that the US prosecution system had suppressed evidence which could have cleared him at trial. He had served 26 years in prison.

But Dewey did not languish in prison. He became Sing Sing’s light heavyweight champion and this spurred him on to even bigger things. Dewey Bozella went on to read a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree, amassing 52 certificates and diplomas along the way. In 2011, while accepting the Arthur Ash Courage Award, he told a reporter that he had always dreamed of one day having a professional boxing bout. That fight came last week, as boxing legend, turned promoter Oscar de La Hoya set it up on the undercard of a light heavy championship bout. It was also reported that US President Barrack Obama phoned Bozella prior to the bout to wish him luck. In a tremendous show of athleticism, he soaked up Larry Hopkins’ (no relation to champion Bernard also mentioned) assault in the first round, nicking the round with precision shots. After that, Bozella sucked it up and took his opponent apart. In fact, in an attempt to force a disqualification (rather than register a loss) Larry Hopkins repeatedly spat out his gum guard in the last two rounds, hoping that the referee would step in. But no one was going to deny Dewey Bozella the performance of his life. He has now retired and plans to open up a boxing centre for under-privileged kids. That is one true inspirational figure.