Bradley Rea will return to action on October 6th and the middleweight prospect will be looking to put a nightmare year behind him and enter 2024 on a high.

Rea (14-1, 5 KO’s) will do so with a new team in his corner after leaving behind Blain Younis and the team at Ricky Hatton’s Gym in Hyde and moving 50 miles down the road to Blackpool where he will be part of Andy Abrol’s young, promising Sharpstyle gym.

Until an English title defeat to in-form Tyler Denny last November, momentum had steadily built behind the 25 year old. Neither Lee Cutler or Craig McCarthy - both undefeated prospects themselves at the time they fought Rea - made it out of the first round and he outlasted Jez Smith in another solid test. The battle hardened Denny simply knew a little too much. Nonetheless, if highly rated Abrol can tap into his undoubted potential, Rea can still emerge as a major player on the British middleweight scene.

“I’ve known Andy a very long time,” Rea told VIP’s Bell 2 Bell podcast. “Whereas other people might not have heard of him in the pro game, I know what he can do and I know how good of a coach he is. More importantly, I trust him. He’s helped me out in the corners before as an amateur and I know what he can do for me. I think he’s the man to get me back on track and get my career on track.”

The defeat to Denny was followed by a frustrating period of inactivity. After recovering from the broken hand he picked up in the fight, Rea’s return to the ring was delayed further when his compulsory brain scan showed a slight anomaly and the stringent British Board rules required him to seek the opinion of a neurologist. 

As soon as he was ruled fit to fight, Rea and his manager, Steve Wood, wasted little time in nailing down a return date.

“By the time I’ll be back in the ring It’ll have been ten months,” Rea said.

“Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t manage it [the defeat] in the way I would have wanted to. I would have liked to get back in the gym straight away, get a little six rounder and get back to winning ways. Because of the injury and brain scan I couldn’t do that.

“I’ve finally got a date I can work towards. It feels like forever. I’ve had a nightmare few months and I’m looking forward to putting that behind me and cracking on.”