WREXHAM boxer Jake Dodd hopes that his defeat of Yorkshireman Nabil Ahmed in a super bantamweight clash on Manchester promoter Steve Wood’s Blackpool show will have kickstarted the fighting career that he’d voluntarily paused two years ago to concentrate on providing for his family.
Jake said: “In so far as most people give it any thought, they likely assume that a pro boxer will make a decent living form the sport. With rare exceptions this simply isn’t the case.
“I retired from boxing because I became a full-time plumber to benefit my family, but I kept thinking that I had so much more to give. I had the chance to train with an old mate Alex Rutter.
“He’s helped me turn it all round with Alex as coach and Steve Wood of VIP Promotions as my manager. I’m so grateful for this and within a year I want to be in big fights competing for titles.”
The former student of Ysgol Clywedog in Bryn Offa further explained that “to succeed in professional boxing that a fighter like me who’s still on what we call ‘small hall ‘shows can sell tickets to his bouts”.
He added: “I don’t have a strategy as such. I just hope people who know me and like me will support me on this journey because it’ll be going quickly. I’m determined to make this my full-time future. I can beat most in the division.”
Thirty-year-old Dodd won his first three professional fights in the second half of 2023 including a third-round stoppage of opponent Steven Maguire in his debut bout. The highlight of his amateur career was winning a flyweight bronze for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Jake said: “I admire Gervonta Davis for how well he’s done given difficulties in his upbringing and his success as a boxer from a very early age. Mike Tyson’s the same and I’m hungry to be like them.
“Out of boxing I like hiking in the North Wales mountains. You’ll often find me on the golf course, but spending time with my family is more important than anything.”
“I’m grateful to my sponsors for their generosity. Many thanks to The Door Company UK, Maddox Noel Estate & Letting Agents and Fogerty Group. Any other potential sponsors can contact me via Instagram @jake_dodd_boxing.”
