Exclusive: Bradley Rea Reveals He Was Close to Retirement Before Becoming European Champion

Bradley Rea has revealed how he was on the verge of announcing his retirement from boxing before being crowned European light-heavyweight champion.

The Mancunian, who is now based in Blackpool with trainer Andy Abrol, claimed the vacant EBU title in Hull last weekend following a gruelling victory over Shakan Pitters.

After struggling for opportunities to fulfil his potential - “I was high-risk, low reward for a lot of guys out there” - beating Pitters has unlocked a series of lucrative fights for Rea, who later described himself as the most avoided man in the division.

It also saw the 27-year-old emerge from one of the bleakest periods of his career, which saw him consider quitting the sport he loves when a series of catastrophic sparring sessions at Abrol’s Sharpstyle gym proved the catalyst for a severe crisis of confidence.

“When I first joined up with Andy, things weren’t going well,” Rea admitted, during an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.com. 

“I thought I could do most things but, went in there one day, and realised that 17-year-olds who had been with him all their lives were doing stuff I couldn’t."

“That really made me think and, to be honest, it really wasn’t nice. I was travelling over from Manchester at the time and, on one car journey home, I got in there and thought: That’s it, I’m giving up."

“It was a long, long journey. I was at rock bottom and my self-belief had gone completely. I’m no good at anything else other than fighting, so I was looking at a life stacking shelves in Tesco."

“But I’m a fighter and, by the time I pulled up at home, I’d changed my mind. I rang Andy and told him I’m moving to Blackpool."

“So to do this, to come back from all of that, I honestly can’t tell you what it means.”

REMATCH OPTION

Despite teasing the possibility of offering Pitters a rematch following Saturday’s GBM show at the Connexin Live arena, Rea is now expected to target a bout against British champion Joshua Buatsi rather than a return against his rival from Birmingham.

After dominating the opening stages of their contest, Rea survived a strong comeback from Pitters during the closing stages of an absorbing and, from his perspective, enlightening match-up.

“I had to build myself up again from scratch after going with Andy,” Rea acknowledged, tracing his journey through the sport following 2022’s loss to Tyler Denny. 

“That’s not easy, because it wasn't as if I was a novice. It took some character, looking back."

“That’s what I showed against Shakan. Everyone has always known I’ve got the technical skills. Now they know that I’ve got the balls too. I’ve got the character to dig-in and bite down on my gumshield when I have to.”

Initially, Rea (21-1) and Pitters had been set to face each other in Ireland, on the undercard of a GBM show headlined by Kieran Molloy. 

SEVERED TIES

But the programme was switched to East Yorkshire when the Sheffield based promotional company severed their ties with the former European amateur bronze medallist.

“I’ve got mates who watched me and Shakan from Galway, because they’d booked tickets and couldn’t get a refund,” Rea said. 

“That’s the dedication they’ve got, that they were prepared to follow me there. I did tons of tickets at short notice for Hull too, so I should be attractive to people."

“Now, I’m high-risk but high-reward and that should make all the difference.”