Bradley Rea ready for title charge in new light heavyweight home

Bradley Rea returns to title action this weekend and is determined to put himself back in the picture for big nights and big fights.  

It has been almost four years since Rea, 19-1 (9 KOs), first exploded onto the UK network Sky Sports. Over the course of a year, he blew away the undefeated Lee Cutler in less than a round and repeated the trick against the unbeaten Craig McCarthy. In between, he outpointed the useful Jez Smith over eight. 

The results went some way towards earning him an English middleweight title fight with Tyler Denny. Rea lost a close decision to a resurgent Denny, a result which hasn’t aged too badly considering the scalps that Denny went on to take en route to winning the European title.

If Rea had assumed that his victories over Cutler, Smith and McCarthy would provide him with a little leeway, he was wrong. Rather than being given the chance to rebuild, Rea vanished from television screens.

Rea decided to switch things up. He made the tough decision to leave the team at Ricky Hatton’s gym in Hyde and upped sticks and moved to Blackpool where he has been training under Andy Abrol at the flourishing Sharpstyle gym.

The 6ft 4in 26-year-old also decided to stop fighting his body and will now campaign at light heavyweight. 

Things have gone well. Rea has racked up five routine wins since the fight with Denny with four of those coming inside the distance but he has been crying out for a step up in opposition.

On Saturday night, Rea gets the chance he has been waiting for. He fights former Northern Area champion, Adam Hepple, 4-1 (1 KO), in a Commonwealth title eliminator dressed up with the Commonwealth Silver light heavyweight title. The fight will be streamed live courtesy of VIP Promotions’ newly formed partnership with Boxing News. 

“I was matched with an African opponent. They pulled out or didn’t take the fight and then we got Hepple which – for me – is a tougher fight,” Rea said on the Bell 2 Bell podcast. “He’s a good fighter, Hepple. He’s game and had a good fight with Reece Farnhill in an eliminator for the English title. I’m good to go and good to show people the level that I believe I’m at now. I believe it’s gonna be a very convincing win on Saturday night and I think that’s gonna show where I belong.

“I’m happy it’s an English opponent because we’ve got it as an English eliminator. Again, that’s gonna put my foot in the door. Beat Hepple on Saturday and somebody has to fight me next year then. It doesn’t matter if it’s for the English or whatever, somebody has to fight me.” 

Rea was a giant middleweight. Over the past five fights he has weighed no less than 169lbs and didn’t look too far out of condition when weighing 194lbs for a late notice, keep-busy fight with Ryan Labourn. He and his team have decided that a fighting weight of 175lbs should suit him and he is already wishing that he had spent less of his career fighting the scales. 

“I’ve done it all my life. I’ve drained myself down by cutting weight and making weight, lacking food and lacking water and I think it’s took me 14 years in the game to realize that the advantage you think you’re getting from it is not an advantage at all and, if it is, it’s a tiny little advantage,” Rea said.

“If you’re a good fighter, you’re a good fighter. I’ve been beat up by many smaller people in my life and I’ve beat up a lot bigger people than me. The advantage in your head is a bit of a myth. I’m so much happier in the gym, so much happier training. I feel better with a bit of food in me. It’s not like I’m a small light heavyweight in there. I think this is the weight for me going forward.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79