Unbeaten middleweight contender Shakiel Thompson admits his January 24 fight with Brad Pauls represents a significant step up.
Thompson, 15-0 (11 KOs), a southpaw from Sheffield, UK, will meet Pauls at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, UK, and presently sits at No. 5 in the IBF ratings and No. 11 in the WBO rankings.
“I’m really excited for this,” Thompson told BoxingScene. “I’ve been begging for opportunities like this. I’ve been calling all the names out, and now the opportunity is here and we’re grabbing it with both hands. We’re going to make a statement come January 24.”
Thompson has long been calling out the leading lights at middleweight domestically but had been frustrated in his efforts to land big fights until Pauls stepped up.
“I’m not too sure,” Thompson said when asked why so few had seemed keen to face him.
“Probably because I’m a 6ft, 3ins, big-punching southpaw, and I’m huge for the weight. I’m not too sure. You’re going to have to ask the other middleweights that question. But, yeah, no one’s been lining up. So hats off to Brad for taking it the second time. He didn’t take it for the final eliminator.”
Does Thompson think Pauls sees something in the unbeaten prospect, or is it simply an important fight for Pauls to win to get back into the mix for title fights?
“He needs to win this fight to get back in the mix,” said Thompson. “I don’t think there’s any other route for him to go down. He needs to get past me. And once he does, he can go to the other routes. But, yeah, he won’t be getting past me. He’ll be getting the shock of his life.”
Pauls, from Cornwall, UK, is 20-2-1 (11 KOs) and won an eight-rounder in 2025 after losing his last fight of 2024 to Denzel Bentley in December of that year.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
