Luton middleweight Jordan says that boxing helped him turn from a teen tearaway into a man and that now is the right time to turn professional ahead of his bow in the paid ranks tomorrow night.
The 25-year-old from Farley Hill, nicknamed The Wanderer, will take on former Southern Area title challenger Robbie Chapman at the University of Bolton Stadium, in a six-round bout on the undercard of WBO European lightweight and welterweight title fights.
As a Senior ABAs winner, GB Best of Britain champion, multiple national and London champion and Team GB fighter in his highly successful amateur career (90 wins in 102 bouts), Reynolds had been targeting a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, but the British boxing team went in a surprise different direction and he took the opportunity to turn pro.
But the Covid-19 pandemic that saw the Olympics scrapped last year, also delayed Reynolds’ first entrance into the professional game, having signed to MTK Global over a year ago, with his original debut getting cancelled last year.
Speaking to the boxing management company’s website, Reynolds, who is under trainer Peter Taylor, said: “It’s been a mad journey. I was hanging around the streets when I grew up and got kicked out of school at around 14 or 15 and that’s when I started boxing.
“I ended up working full time at the gym in Stevenage from 10 in the morning to 10 at night to try and stay out of trouble.
“I was living boxing. Before that I had no respect or morals, but I learned it all at the gym and being there helped me get disciplined and grow into a man.
“I had my first fight at 16 and after only a few fights I was entered into the ABAs, so that was sink or swim. I was going up against people who had 60 or 70 fights, and I managed to box six times against the best fighters around and got all the way to the final.
“I thought to myself, I’ve got something here, so I looked around at the other gyms that were successful and thought I need to get there.
“I was broke back then and had no money, so I was selling my clothes and selling my Playstation to try and get to these gyms. My mum was even selling her jewellery to help give me a chance, so we managed to raise a few hundred quid to pay for train fare so I could box at West Ham.
“I won my first national title there within a few months, and then got a job at St Pancras too, so that was helping to pay the train fares. I was still getting into trouble back at home, so some of my family in Essex asked if I wanted to move there, and it really helped.
“It was hard to leave my mum and my family, but I had a dream in my head. I went on to win the Senior ABAs, box for England, get onto Team GB and win international tournaments too, and now is the right time to turn professional.”
Reynolds’ debut on the MTK Global event will be broadcast live on YouTube, in association with Top Rank and IFL TV.
He is favourite to kick-off his pro career with victory over Chapman, who despite winning his first five professional bouts on points, has lost his last five, including to Brad Pauls for the Southern Area Middleweight title.
Reynolds has always insisted his fight style is more suited to the professional game, and as a man who also partakes in jiving to 1950s rock n roll music, he is determined to add something new to the sport and the middleweight division.
“Nowadays everyone is doing the same old thing, they’re coming out to rap music and scared to be themselves. I want to come out and entertain and show that it’s right to be yourself and own it.
“I got the nickname ‘The Wanderer,’ and it’s a bit of 50s, what I like. I might be a normal geezer outside of the ring, but when I’m in the ring I’m a savage.
“When I’m in the ring that’s where I leave everything on the line. I’m not one dimensional, a lot of fighters only have plan A, but I’ve got plan B, C and D.
“I can box, I can fight and have a war, and I have a big heart. When times get hard I can grit my teeth and bite down on the gum shield and have it out. Times like this separates the weak from the strong, who has been on it and who hasn’t.
“I’m excited to put on a good performance and showcase my skills, and you’ll see a discipline and mature Jordan Reynolds on Friday.”
