In 1993 Alfie Lewis stood in court waiting for a jury to decide whether he was guilty of manslaughter. It would not be the last time twelve strangers decided the fate of the world champion kickboxer they called the Animal.
The fighter
Lewis was one of the pioneers of the fight game: semi-contact kickboxing, freestyle fighting and karate, where he won the highest honours in the sport. He was one of the fastest and most gifted fighters of his time, and the men at the top of martial arts said he could really fight, not just score points. Like Terry O'Neill and Gary Spiers, he also worked in nightclub security.
Keith Hill
Driving home from work in the early hours, Lewis told the court, a group of men banged their fists on his car's bonnet as they passed. One of them was Keith Hill, a roofing boss who had been out celebrating the birth of his third child. Lewis pulled over to look at the damage, and Hill walked towards him. Lewis said Hill shaped to punch him, so he struck first and Hill went down. When Hill's friends came over, Lewis drove off, not knowing how badly he was hurt.
He told the court it was a reaction punch in self-defence, that if he had wanted to fight he would have kicked and used combinations, and that he felt sick with guilt. An independent witness backed his account, and he was cleared. Keith Hill died of a brain haemorrhage. His family donated his organs to save others.
Cream
In 1999, after a targeted Merseyside Police operation, Lewis was accused of running a drugs gang that controlled the supply of pills inside Cream, the famous Liverpool club where he ran security. Lewis said he did not know that some of his associates and fight students were dealing, and that his job was keeping gangs and troublemakers out at the door.
Many members of the alleged syndicate pleaded guilty. The first jury could not agree. The retrial was moved from Liverpool to Preston, and this time Lewis was convicted of being the boss of the operation and sentenced to 12 years.
Aaron
After his release he went back to training fighters in Liverpool, including his own children. His son Aaron had won world honours in kickboxing at the age of 11. On 1 February 2017 Aaron was shot eight times in Wavertree, moments from his father's gym. His parents came upon the scene minutes later. There were six arrests, and nobody has been convicted.
"I feel pain," Alfie told the Liverpool Echo, "but my pain makes me remember about my son, and pain is love to me."