CRUISERWEIGHT prospect Lucas Roehrig had been given a week off after beating a two-time English champion on his debut at the weekend.
That was until a call came in to his trainer-manager George Groves requesting the 21-year-old for a week of sparring with the current IBF world champion in Saudi Arabia.
Like Groves, former basketball player Roehrig is a product of the famed Dale Youth Amateur Boxing Club in west London but turned professional instead of waiting for the next Olympic cycle.
He made his debut at the weekend and eyebrows were raised when Portsmouth’s Joel McIntyre, then 21-9, was selected as the opponent for the youngster’s debut at the Harrow Leisure Centre on Saturday.
Roehrig had not boxed since his amateur victory over Queensberry new boy Elliot Elimasi in the national quarter-finals back in April but Groves had no intention of easing him into life as a pro.
But he passed his acid test with flying colours, forcing McIntyre into a third-round retirement to ensure his professional career began with a bang.
Roehrig had been told to put his feet up for a few days before getting back in the gym over Christmas ahead of a big 2025. But now a trip to Saudi to spar Jai Opetaia means he will be straight back in the ring.
“My debut went about as well as I could have hoped,” Roehrig told Boxing News. “Definitely considering what was in front of me. George wanted to make a statement with the opponent for the debut but I still managed to showcase my talent with a win.
“I’d been out for a long time so I hadn’t had that adrenaline surge and that excitement you get from a fight. But I was confident just because of the work we’d done in the gym, me and George, so there were no nerves.
“I think George was happy, he thought it was a mature performance for this stage of my career. But we will go back to the gym, watch it back together properly and really assess it.
“It’s just the start. There was no big celebration. I jumped back in with George and he dropped me home. I just chilled at home, woke up in the morning and jumped in the cold plunge. I didn’t really celebrate at all to be honest, I don’t drink and I’ve never been clubbing so I was home by about 11:30. For me, the party was the fight.”
And now the duo are set to jet out to Saudi for Roehrig’s second spar with Opetaia after some initial rounds in London earlier this year.
“I was meant to have a week off after Saturday,” Roehrig says. “But Opetaia is in Saudi and he asked if I can come over with George, who is already flying on Wednesday to spar for the week.
“His manager asked if I can go over with him and get some rounds in. I said ‘yeah, 100 per cent’.
“He said our spar in London was some of the best work he’s had so for his manager to call us back up and ask if we can come back shows that we made a good impression.”
