How Far Can Pat Brown Go in Boxing?

British boxing is on the cusp of a boom period. With so many talented prospects on the UK scene right now, such as Moses Itauma and Adam Azim, it’s a very exciting time to be a boxing fan in Britain right now.

However, there is one fighter in particular who we feel is flying under the radar at the moment. Pat Brown, a hard-hitting Cruiserweight from Sale in Greater Manchester, could be a real problem for the division in the years to come.

A fighter with strong amateur pedigree, at just 26 years of age, the best is still yet to come from him. But how far can he go in the current landscape? Today, that’s what we’ll aim to find out.

A likeable, down-to-earth talent with some excellent attributes to his approach, Brown could make a real dent in the 200lbs division in the not-too-distant future.

Pat Brown’s amateur career

First enjoying success on a regional level, Brown was a North-West amateur champion two times over by the time he was 19 years old [via Manchester Evening News].

A couple of years after this, he won the English Heavyweight amateur title at the England Boxing National Amateur Championships in 2021.

His success led him to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. Sadly, like many of Team GB’s other boxing hopefuls in Paris, he failed to progress far.

Facing Brazilian Keno Machado in the first round, a former runner-up in the IBA World Boxing Championships, he was defeated on a split decision.

Analysing Pat Brown’s professional career so far

So far, Brown has had six fights in the professional ranks, winning all six within the distance. None of them have given him too much trouble, so it’s hard to analyse his weaknesses and shortcomings right now.

His front-foot style leads him to take more punches than necessary, though it’s rare to see him get hit cleanly. This is a hallmark of almost any experienced amateur boxer, especially so in the British scene, where prospects are heavily drilled on their defensive fundamentals.

We haven’t seen him put under much pressure as of yet. As such, one could say that his chin has yet to be put to the test, but trainer Jamie Moore claims that his punch resistance isn’t an issue.

In an interview with BoxingScene, Moore said: “Pat Brown’s got a good chin. I’ve seen him take a few decent shots. He has got a good defence.

“He definitely is one of those fighters where attack is his best form of defense, and then as soon as we started working on defensive stuff, he’s really come on.”

Experienced Heavyweight Dave Allen, one of Brown’s stablemates, has also been full of praise for him in the past, lauding his technical ability.

On his official YouTube channel, Allen said: “Pat [Brown] can box. He really can box. He’s a better boxer than people think; I think a lot of people just think he’s a knockout man, but he’s not.

“He’s got a good jab, he’s very athletic, he’s got good reflexes, he’s hard to hit. He can fight like f***. I rate him highly.”

Pat Brown vs John Hedges

In his next fight, Brown will take on fellow prospect John Hedges on September 19 for the vacant British Cruiserweight title. In the professional ranks, this is a real step up for 26-year-old – Hedges is no slouch.

At 6ft 6, he is much bigger than Brown and packs a serious punch. His footwork is solid – for a man of his size, he is unusually quick.

Still, in his last time out against Ellis Zorro, he showed a few weaknesses that Brown can exploit. He doesn’t use his jab enough for such a rangy fighter and struggles on the inside, especially so in the clinch. If Brown can work his way into short range and find space to plant his feet, he could do some serious damage.

We’ll back Brown to do the business in that fight. Hedges can punch, but as we’ve mentioned, Brown can take them. It’s refreshing to see such a fight being made – two hungry up-and-comers who’ll undoubtedly look to smash lumps off each other.