Josh Padley: From Day Tradesman to European Champion
Just over two years ago, Josh Padley was fighting Conner Lee Doherty in the LUFC Banqueting Suite, a single room within Elland Road often used for personal events and white collar shows.
Padley would win the bout by TKO in the fourth round – nevertheless, his win received little fanfare, as he wasn’t even at the top of that particular bill. The following monday morning, Padley returned to his primary trade of electrical installation.
At this point of his professional boxing career, Padley had built up a respectable record of 14-0. Unfortunately, as is the case for many pros, he couldn’t rely on boxing to pay the bills alone. Despite this, the Doncaster-born scrapper remained steadfast. He kept busy in the gym and waited – perhaps in vain – for a fateful phone call.
In mid-2024, it happened. Padley was given the platform he dreamed of – he was slated to take on highly-favoured Mark Chamberlain on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois. From fighting in front of a mere 1,000 people – maybe less – just a few months earlier, this was quite the leap.
Many would’ve folded under the bright lights – not Padley. Instead, he out-foxed and out-boxed the feared power puncher, dropping him in round eight and securing a unanimous decision win in what was seen as a major upset at the time.
All of a sudden, Padley’s stock has risen to unprecedented heights. In the eyes of many, this would be Padley’s crowning moment in boxing – but the following year, his life would change forever.
Fighting a superstar
In 2025, Shakur Stevenson was (and still is) amongst the best fighters in the world. With dominant wins over Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez and Robson Conceicao under his belt, he was set to defend his WBC Lightweight title against rising star Floyd Schofield on the undercard of Dmitri Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev 2.
Then, on fight week, Schofield fell ill. In no shape to compete, his fight with the Olympic silver medalist was cancelled. At such short notice, many expected Stevenson to sit out the show – enter Josh Padley.
On just four days notice, Padley stepped in and offered to fight the champion in Saudi Arabia. His policy of tireless, indefatigable work in the gym paid off. After a short negotiation period, the fight was seal – Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley for the WBC Lightweight title.
No-one expected Padley to win – indeed, it was a routinely dominant display from Stevenson, who shut ‘Paddy’ out and stopped him with a series of crippling body shots in the tenth round. Regardless, Padley kept Stevenson honest throughout the contest, landing some telling shots and forcing him against the ropes on multiple occasions.
He earned the American’s respect – not only this, he also won over vast swathes of new fans who eagerly awaited his next move. Even in defeat, Padley had gone further than anyone would have ever expected.
Winning European gold
It might’ve been easy for Padley to cash in and call it a day at this juncture – but that simply isn’t who he is. He wanted more and he would take all the necessary strides to obtain it.
Following a scrappy, hard-fought win over veteran Reece Belotti, Padley was offered the chance to fight for the vacant EBU European Super-Featherweight title against Frenchman Jaouad Belmehdi.
Taking the opportunity with both hands, Padley demolished Belmehdi, stopping him within two rounds to win the belt at Newcastle Arena in dominant fashion.
Most recently, Padley made the first defence of his title when he took on Aqib Fiaz. It was a dogged, dirty affair in which Fiaz looked to gain every advantage by any means necessary. Headbutting, shouldering and low-blowing the champion on multiple occasions, ‘Paddy’ was embroiled in an ugly – but nonetheless exciting – battle over the course of 12 rounds.
Thankfully, the judges were more appreciative of Padley’s much cleaner work, handing him a razor-thin split decision. As such, the magical tale of Josh Padley goes on.
There is now tentative talk of him tilting at the world title for a second time – this might well be outside of his reach, but we’ll always root for him. A true Rocky story if ever there was one – after all, everyone loves an underdog.
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