Ashlee Eales has ambitions to make up for two lost years in 10 months and become the Midlands super welterweight champion.
His return will come when BCB Promotions are back at the Venue in Dudley, for the first time since July 2019, as part of a Friday fight night on March 4.
Eales hasn’t boxed since February 2020 himself, when he moved to 2-0 with a four-rounds points success over Jordan Grannum, through a 40-37 scoreline.
That built upon his 2019 debut, where he shut-out Kevin McCauley through a 40-36 points landslide, which is his last action to date.
But the 27-year-old, from Nuneaton, is aiming to come back with a bang and get busy quickly, with the area crown in mind that is currently held by Kyle Haywood.
Eales is still developing after a short amateur career, with just six bouts, but all wins and three of them by stoppage. Before that, he was a professional dancer.
‘The Real Deal’ believes he’s got all of the attributes to pick up titles and is fully-focussed on his craft, with a hat-trick of pro victories first in mind.
He said: “I’m training full-time, it’s a conscious decision to dedicate myself to boxing after, basically, having two years of my career taken away from me, because of the pandemic.
“I’m living with my parents, splitting my time between there and staying at my girlfriend’s but, because I’m putting the work in, I’m hoping it will pay off, by the end of the year.
“Even in my last pro fights, the only thing that’s been holding me back has been my fitness. The talent has always been there and I’ve only been boxing for a few years.
“It comes easy to me, particularly the movement side of it, but I’ve got a background as a professional dancer. That used to be my whole life, how things have changed!
“I went to watch a mate do a charity MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fight one day and someone else on the card pulled out. I stepped in and gave it a go, I’d always wanted to do it anyway.
“I won that one, had a couple more and got the bug for it. I started with a club called Drop Zone, in Bulkington, but then I went around the other gyms.
“I went to Boxing Clever Academy, in Bedworth, and I’ve been there ever since. Lee Spare is still my coach, he’s followed me into the pros.
“When I was an amateur, I was also doing ringside security for boxing, on BT Sport, and I was watching fighters in there that I thought I could be as good as, if not better.
“It’s a big stage to perform on, a lot like dancing is, apart from there’s not another person trying to punch you in the face! Some people are born for it.
“When I was doing the ringside security, they were Frank Warren shows, Rob is Frank’s brother and Alfie’s is Rob’s son. I got talking to Rob and Alfie and now they manage me.
“I haven’t had many fights, amateur or pro, but I learned a lot from the two that I’ve had as a pro. I went from hitting people until they crumbled to facing opponents with a granite chin.
“That’s taught me to target the body more and I can do that from a lot of angles. A lot of people think I’m a southpaw, but I’m a right-handed switch hitter.
“I just need to jump back in there now and I’m aiming to be out every month until, at least, June. By the end of this year, I want a Midlands title shot.”
Tickets for the Venue bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
