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Nick Parkinson
NEWQUAY, ENGLAND — Cornwall in the far southwest of England is more known for its surfing than boxing, but Brad Pauls is bucking the trend.
When Pauls floored Nathan Heaney twice on his way to a 12th round stoppage win in July, he became the first boxer from Cornwall to be crowned a British professional boxing champion for 82 years.
Len Harvey was the last boxer from Cornwall to hold a British title (1938-1942, light heavyweight), and he went on to win a version of the world light heavyweight title (1939-1942).
Pauls (19-1-1, 11 KOs), 31, can similarly progress to world title level if he beats Denzel Bentley (20-3-1, 17 KOs) in a first defence of his British middleweight belt and also win the vacant European title at the OVO Arena Wembley in London on Saturday.
Pauls has defied the odds to get to this pivotal point of his career coming from an area not renowned for its professional boxing and without the backing of a major promoter.
“I have been at a bit of a disadvantage, starting from the outside coming in,” Pauls told ESPN. “There’s limited infrastructure in Cornwall for professional boxingr. Cornwall is not famous for producing boxers, it’s more surfers and rugby players. If you want the opportunities with boxing, you have to travel. It wasn’t the easiest coming from Cornwall, and I had to be more motivated than others to continue with boxing.
“I was always the odd one out when I was younger because I used to box. Everyone else was into surfing, rugby or football. But I just loved boxing, nothing else interested me. I have only been surfing once or twice in my whole life. I managed to stand up — but then fell off.
“I had to uproot my life at 18 to live in another part of England, to live in cities where I could develop myself more.
“East London and Essex is the best place in the country for me to be based for boxing, for gyms and sparring, and it’s a seven hour drive from Cornwall so I have to be based here. You have to train with better people and by a good coach to develop, so I had to move away from Cornwall for my boxing career.
“I was an amateur in London until I was 18 and then I went to Southampton university to do a course in personal training and for boxing, and I won some amateur titles there. Then I turned professional and I’m trained in Epping by Terry Steward who I will finish with. I’m pretty much in Epping all of my 12-week training camp. I do a bit of training in Cornwall, I do runs along the cliffs and beaches.”
The last boxer from Cornwall, or its neighbouring county Devon, to win a significant title was Plymouth-based middleweight Scott Dann, who made three defences of the British middleweight title 20 years ago. Bristol, which is a three-hour car journey from Cornwall, has produced boxers down the years, the last being Lee Haskins, who held the IBF world bantamweight title from 2015 to 2017.
Despite his success, Pauls fears he will never get to box in Cornwall with Plymouth — 50 miles away — the closest he can get to a home fight. “I have boxed in Plymouth five or six times, and Torquay once, and that’s as close as it gets to Cornwall,” Pauls told said.
“But I had over 200 fans travel up from Cornwall to Birmingham for my last fight, a five hour drive and it probably cost them £400-£500 ($500-$600) each with the high cost of everything these days, but they are still finding the money to support me. We have looked into holding a show in Cornwall for years but it doesn’t have the right hospital within 50 miles, the closest hospital that meets the rules for brain injuries is in Plymouth which is over an hour’s drive from my hometown Newquay.
“It’s a shame, the last professional boxing show in Cornwall was the in 1980s, but Plymouth is not too far away.”
Pauls enters Saturday’s fight in better form than Bentley, who lost a majority decision to Heaney a year ago, and there is the added incentive of victory sealing a world title shot.
Bentley and Pauls are ranked No 1. and No. 2 challengers respectively for the WBO world title, held along with the WBA title by ESPN’s top-ranked middleweight Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs), 31, from Kazakhstan but based in California. Alimkhanuly, who has been champion for two years, unanimously outpointed Bentley in 2022.
“I’ve never felt this good in my professional career,” Pauls said.
“It’s the British belt, my whole team, my lifestyle, my conditioning, my mindset coach, and I have the experience now of beating good boxers in big fights, I’m more comfortable of being under the big lights and being shown live on TV.
“I believe Denzel is above British title level and this is basically a world title eliminator. [Promoter] Frank Warren said the winner gets a world title shot next year and it would change their lives. I’m No. 5 with the WBA, and No. 2 with the WBO. [WBA champion] Erislandy Lara and Alimkhanuly are both good fighters.”
Warren, of Queensberry Promotions, said: “I’ve told them that the winner will get a world title shot next year, which I will deliver. Brad showed he was no Cornish pasty in his last fight and it’s a fight that has been really well received by fans online.
“There’s the added spice that Hamzah Sheeraz has given up the European title and that will be on the line too.”
Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs), 25, from Ilford in east London, who Warren also promotes, will challenge WBC world middleweight champion Carlos Adames in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 22.
Also on Saturday’s bill, former WBO world cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs), from London, will make his heavyweight debut against Germany’s Hussein Muhamed (18-1, 14 KOs).