SHAKAN PITTERS and Bradley Rea are set to fight for the vacant European light-heavyweight title in the coming months.
Both boxers have seen opportunities for the EBU belt slip away recently, with Rea’s chance vanishing last Friday when he was scheduled to face champion Daniel Blenda Dos Santos. The Frenchman withdrew on the day of the fight, citing illness, after Rea, 20-1 (10 KOs), had stepped in on a few days’ notice, replacing Shakan Pitters, 20-2 (7 KOs), who withdrew due to health issues. In February Dos Santos pulled out of a scheduled defence against Pitters after the EBU revealed “Due to serious medical conditions Daniel Blenda Dos Santos is not authorised to fight until further notice.”
Now, Pitters and Rea could become the first two Brits to fight each other for the European 175lb title since Clinton Woods extended his reign as champion with an eighth-round win over Crawford Ashley in March 1999.
According to the EBU website and the latest British Boxing Board of Control circular, the two will contest the vacant title ‘on a date and at a venue to be advised’. The bout will be promoted by GBM Sports, who tried to stage the unsuccessful Dos Santos vs. Pitters and Dos Santos vs. Rea contests. Boxing News reached out to promoter Izzy Asif for comment but at this moment he was unsure as to when the fight would take place.
Pitters, a former British champion, returned to the ring on February 7, stopping Bahadur Karami in a six-round bout, ending a 17-month absence. Rea, who once campaigned at middleweight, including an unsuccessful attempt at the English title, secured three wins in 2024 against modest opposition.
