Former British junior middleweight titleholder Scott Fitzgerald is hoping to resume his career following a four-year legal battle over allegations of rape, a charge filed against him in 2020.
Fitzgerald, 32, was found not guilty of the charge in February after a jury deliberated for less than two hours at Preston Crown Court.
The former British champion's last appearance came in May 2021 against Gregory Trenel at the Manchester Arena, and he won courtesy of a third-round knockout.
Speaking to VIP Boxing Promotions, Fitzgerald admitted that the burden of having such a charge against him had weighed heavily on his shoulders and he is relieved that his legal issues are over and that he can now focus on a return to the sport.
"The last four years have been terrible,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a heavy f****** thing to have hanging over my head. I stayed strong for as long as I could, but it was a s***** thing to go through.
"I was found innocent very quickly by the jury, with a unanimous verdict. Now, I have a huge weight taken off my shoulders."
Before his February court date, Fitzgerald had returned to the gym under the guidance of his father, who had encouraged Scott to go back to control his weight after he ballooned up to 14 stone.
"Around September, I started getting back into the gym. I was heavy at 14 and odd stone, and it was all down to my dad getting me back into the gym. He always kept asking me to come back, so that was the only reason I linked up with him, and now I am genuinely enjoying being back in the gym.
“I have a real buzz for boxing again,” Fitzgerald said.
Despite his amateur successes and having owned the British title as a professional, Fitzgerald previously had been sporadically active and accused of not taking the sport seriously.
Despite turning professional in 2016, Fitzgerald has featured only 15 times as a professional, with 10 victories inside the distance.
Fitzgerald, a 2015 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, became only the third fighter from Preston to claim the British title by defeating Ted Cheeseman in 2019.
Fitzgerald's career goals following his acquittal are to recapture the belt he once held and discover if he can compete beyond domestic level.
“What I would like to do is get back into the ring and win the British title again,” Fitzgerald said. “Ideally, I would like to defend the title until I can own and keep it.
“Then, after that, just do the best I can to win at whatever level I get to. If I don't win, then at least I know and can live the rest of my life knowing I finished my story how I wanted to finish it.”
