The BBBofC orders John Hedges to defend his regional title against a former Olympian.
Early on Monday, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) announced its decision to order John Hedges, the English cruiserweight champion, to defend his regional title against a former Olympian who has been on a monstrous surge through the division.
Hedges (12-0 with 3 KOs) won the English title in May of 2025 with a decision over Nathan Quarless and recently defended it this past December with a disciplined performance over the tricky Ellis Zorro.
John Hedges is known for being a very crafty operator, posing an awkward and technical challenge for those he comes up against in the land of some of boxing’s biggest boys.
It is the English crown he wears that inevitably beckons any would-be challenger to step up to his throne, and his next assignment could prove to be quite the task.
This is because ‘The Gentleman’ has been ordered to fight a man who is his stylistic opposite, a heavy-handed, bludgeoning bombardier who is creating shockwaves with his fists. A man known as ‘The Bomber’.
This man is Patrick (‘Pat’) Brown, a former 2024 Olympian who, despite embarking on his professional career less than a year ago, is 5-0 with 5 KOs and is already convincing many that he is Britain’s next 200-pound hope.
Brown has continued to impress in each fight, with his latest demolition job coming over the dangerous Felix Valera in his American debut. Indeed, aside from his very first professional fight, the Mancunian has yet to venture past the second round.
Hedges, at 23, is actually over two years younger than the 26-year-old Brown, yet it is the latter who is regarded as the up-and-comer and who will be carrying the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
While Brown will undoubtedly be the puncher in this fight to Hedges’s role of boxer, Brown can box pretty well himself, and Hedges would surely want to find out how good his chin is in any other way than seeing if it can stand up to the artillery that Brown possesses.
It’s a style clash that can’t help but capture the imagination of fight fans, and with both being under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing roof, one would assume that the fight wouldn’t be difficult to make.
We already saw Queensberry’s exciting cruiserweight banger Aloys Junior produce a somewhat listless performance in outpointing the previously mentioned Ellis Zorro, with plenty believing that the decision in Junior’s favour should actually have gone the other way.
Is it possible that Hedges could put on a somewhat similar display against Brown, halting the train hurtling along in its tracks and turning believers into doubters?
It’s certainly not a far-fetched outcome, with Brown yet to overcome a truly stern test as of yet. And indeed, Hedges has outdone the expectations of plenty already with his victory over the vastly more experienced Zorro.
A man who would know about fighting both Brown and Hedges is Lewis Oakford, their only common opponent. While Hedges beat Oakford by technical decision in a fight that never truly caught fire, Brown felled ‘The Mighty Oak’ in just one round. Even Aloys Junior didn’t deal with Oakford that quickly.
And while that doesn’t tell us how a fight between Brown and Hedges will go, it certainly tells the tale of the two opposing methods that they both utilise to navigate the ring. Both have proven very effective so far, but one must break beneath the other.
Will Hedges be chopped down like the rest or might Brown be too green?
The boxer vs. the puncher, a tale much, much older than time.
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