My journey into boxing began by chance. Aged 11, I wanted to be a proessional footballer. Didn't every kid? I was playing regularly for my club when my coach sent me to a local gym to help improve on my overall fitness... I never looked back!
Having caught the boxing bug, I spent most of my amateur career at Yeovil ABC, taking a break at the age of 15 and returning to the gym aged 18, since returning, I dedicated myself to the sport and following a successful run of 45 bouts in the amateurs at an elite level, it was a natural progression to turn professional.
Nothing in life is ever straight forward and my plan to become a professional boxer was to hit a major hurdle, when in 2016, I was denied my professional boxing license on medical grounds. Failing the medical and the subsequent decision to deny me a professional boxing license had a huge negative effect on my life and I took a dark, downward spiral.
I lost my job and then my home, I ended up spending cold winter nights shivering, trying to sleep in my car that I couldn't afford to run. It felt like life was testing me at every turn, but I'm a fighter and I was never going to give up on my dream.
When life grinds you down, your real friends start to shine and for me, these friends came forward and gave me the support I needed to help me re-take control in my life.
Having found a new job, I desperately needed to find my way back into the boxing ring.
A chance meeting with coach Dean Lewis, who is now my coach and great friend was to set me back on the right track and as steel sharpens steel we put a plan in motion for me to compete again in the boxing ring.
This was only the beginning and life wasn't about to get any easier, but I was dedicated to my plan, no matter how hard the commitment.
My typical day became:
WIth my coach's help, I contested the medical verdict and after all the hardship and self doubt which came from one stroke of the pen, a decision which so nearly cost my dreams... my professional boxing license was rightfully granted.
Fast forward three years I'm now undefeated in ten professional fights.
Dean Dodge, undefeated super feather-weight, professional boxer now trains at the Warrior Gym in Weston Super Mare with Coach Dean Lewis and is sponsored by: Penmill Scaffolding, Paragon Cleaning Services, Camelot Builders, All Sport Insurance, Tomahawk Doors & The T-shirt Shop.
"Dean never fails to put on a great show for his army of fans and the Taunton tear up was no exception".
"The Taunton tear up saw a tenth victory for Dean 'El Diablo' Dodge, beating Sean Davis on points in a show stopping fight".
Check out his blog in the menu.
"Boxing," Sugar Ray Leonard wrote, "is the ultimate challenge. There is nothing that compares to testing yourself like the way you do in the ring."
He’s probably right; there’s no sport quite like it as a combination of discipline, artistry, violence and fame.
FIGHT NEWS: New fight details coming soon!
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