Boxer turns professional after hiatus
BURBAGE cruiserweight Kieran Pitman is turning professional after getting the boxing bug back.
Pitman showed promise as an amateur with Earl Shilton ABC in his teens – winning NACYP (National Association of Clubs for Young People) honours and gold at the Haringey Box Cup – before work commitments took him away from the gym.
After a five-year break, he was drawn back to the boxing ring and, at 27, Pitman has decided to punch for pay.
He makes his paid debut at Bedworth Civic Hall on Saturday, February 25.
Pitman said: “I was out for a long time, but whenever I looked at social media or turned the television on, there was boxing on there and I just couldn’t let it go.
“I was working away all the time, so I got a job closer to home and started training at Earl Shilton.
“I had a fight, won it and then (world heavyweight title contender) Dillian Whyte came to the gym and asked me for some sparring. I asked him and his coach what they thought afterwards and they said, ‘You’ve got something, you’re the right age, so you should go for it’.”
Pitman took their advice and got in touch with manager and trainer Carl Greaves.
Greaves also has Sam ‘Bullet’ Bowen and Kyle Haywood in his stable, and Pitman knows them well.
“Me, Sam and Kyle go a long way back,” he said. “I’ve known them since I started boxing at Earl Shilton when I was 13 years old.
“It’s brilliant to be back with them again. They are proper mates.”
Bowen meets Chris Conwell for the vacant English super-featherweight title in Nottingham on Saturday, March 11 – and Pitman turns professional with plenty of ambition.
“I’m not playing about,” he said. “I’m not doing this for money.
“I’m not going to be a punch bag. I’m doing this because I believe I can win titles.”
Tickets for the show in Bedworth are available from 07814 876669 and on Twitter @kieranpitman1