Jake Abrol prepares or Winter Gardens title clash

Blackpool boxer Jake ‘Jabs’ Abrol fights for the welterweight Commonwealth Youth Title in the first professional show of the season to be held by his manager Steve Wood’s VIP Promotions at the Winter Gardens this coming Saturday. Abrol will meet Ghanaian boxer Alidu Suleman.

‘This is my first ten round fight and first title fight,’ explained Abrol, who joined the professional ranks aged just eighteen, ‘and I’ve been training so hard over the summer with lots of sparring and running so that I can put on an excellent performance and ensure that title belt comes to Blackpool.’

Abrol has been trained by his father Andy Abrol at Sharpstyle Boxing Gym which opened in 2014. The upcoming bout is Abrol’s twelfth paid fight and his second as a welterweight and comes two months after his stoppage victory over Justin Menzie in Leeds in what Abrol describes as ‘a brutal encounter’ and which saw Menzie knocked to the canvas twice before the third-round stoppage. Undefeated Abrol drew one bout in an eight rounder against Scottish boxer Josh Sandford earlier this year but has won four of his other ten by stoppage and is ranked 23rd of 114 British welterweights according to boxing’s international database BoxRec.

Twenty-one-year-old Abrol lives in Blackpool with his mother and two younger brothers neither of whom boxes. ‘The sensible ones,’ joked Abrol, adding ‘My dad tells me that I wanted to box from age three. I had thought of getting into the British Olympic team but turning pro was the better move. I love the longer fights and having time to set up the big, winning shots. I had a couple of months off training earlier in the year on my dad’s advice. This allowed my body to relax and develop naturally into welterweight which is my ideal weight. The break refreshed me. I’ve been to Sheffield and Manchester recently to spar, but I love the intense training in our gym and especially with the other young pros like Levi and Thomas. There’s some friendly rivalry and they make sure I stay sharp. I need to as Suleman has only lost one of his twelve contests and he’s my most challenging opponent yet.’

A former pupil of Baines Endowed Primary and St. George’s, Abrol was home-schooled from year nine owing to his boxing commitments. ‘I represented England in international competitions quite frequently in my teens boxing in Ireland, Sweden, Romania and Portugal. The highlight was back in 2017 in my first European championship when I boxed a tough Russian lad and brought home a silver. Boxing has been my life since. I enjoy walking the dog and gaming with friends and relax by watching Sugar Ray Leonard’s fights. A class act. During my time-out I enjoyed going out more with mates, but it didn’t make me regret the time I’ve dedicated to boxing.’

Sharpstyle is no longer open to the public as ‘We’re concentrating on developing our professionals so that they become champions’ said Abrol senior who is also a former north-west regional boxing squad head coach. We were a successful amateur club and won many championships such as the British Tri-Nations with over thirty national titles. There’s now at most twelve training at the gym and we’ve got five on the September show including Jake. Levi Barnes, who partners Jake in training, Thomas Varey, and Luis Wright will be looking to stay undefeated. Brad Rea will be gaining further experience in a six-rounder helping prepare for a major championship fight.’ Brian Moody who joined Sharpstyle in 2017 added ‘The Winter Gardens is a high-quality venue. We’re delighted at the enhanced exposure our boxers will get as the show is to be livestreamed on Talksport and VIP’s YouTube channel free of charge.’

Jake Abrol is clear about his ambition. ‘I want to be a world champion. Show me a boxer who doesn’t. I’m grateful to the loyal group of supporters who always buy tickets to my fights. It’s massively appreciated as is the generous sponsorship from Gold Star Promotions, Empire Pro Tape and Preston’s Northtec.uk which allows me to train twice a day.’

Potential new sponsors can watch Abrol’s previous bouts on YouTube and contact him on Facebook at Jake Abrol or Instagram @jakeabrol or e-mail [email protected] .