Ashlee Eales…enjoyed an outstanding year, but best is yet to come
ASHLEE Eales, southpaw showman with spiteful shots, believes greatness is within his grasp.
And if the chance came tomorrow to fight British champ Bilal Fawaz, with the right money and preparation, he’d take it.
The Nuneaton boxer isn’t brash enough to say he’d comfortably win, but he confidently predicts the Lonsdale Belt will one day be wrapped round his slim waist.
“I’m a gambler, I like to risk it,” the 32-year-old, managed by Jon Pegg, trained by Lee Spare, told me.
The risks have provided stunning rewards in 2026. In May Ashlee faced unbeaten and highly touted Irishman Daniel O’Sullivan as a prohibitive underdog and claimed a fourth round stoppage victory.
In August came an ever bigger ask – 10-0 Bulgarian Diego Krasimirov on a major Boxxer bill. After an eight round shoot-out that saw both men hit the deck, Ashlee had his hand raised in victory.
He is a poster boy for what can happen if you’re prepared to roll the dice. In sink or swim outings, he’s swam.
“I believe this time next year I’ll be British champ, I truly believe that,” the former Midlands champ told me. “With the conditioning and training and experience I get in my next couple of fights, I’ll be champ.”
With only two losses in 15, Eales was to have featured on Scott Murray’s December 10 show at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport. That’s now not happening and Eales is on the search for another fairytale victory.
“We’ve had a few nibbles, but no one on the hook yet,” Eales laughed.
That sentence sums up the man’s boxing philosophy: cast out the net and see if a big one bites. Eales is not afraid of taking matches with the odds stacked against him, although as his stock rises he cannot afford to ruin ratings with silly mission impossibles.
His record reveals the gambles that have been taken. In 2024, he beat Stanley Stannard on the favourite’s home turf to win the Midlands 11st title. In 2025, Eales faced outstanding Elliot Whale on a TV show at such short notice he hardly had time to put hand wraps on. Ashlee was stopped in the sixth, but gave a fine account of himself.
In the early years of a career that started in 2019, application wavered and progress was stalled by broken hands – always a risk when you hit with Ashlee’s power. Now he’s firing on all cylinders.
“Greatness is only a few years away,” Eales, a fighter not short on self-confidence, insisted. “I like to take risks, but the money has to be right because I now know my true worth. If they want me for some top prospect, send me a bit of change and I’ll beat them, too.
“If an offer came to fight Bilal Fawaz and they gave me three months, I’d be ready. I’m not going to ruin my chance of getting something decent by taking a fight too early. I’d fight Bilal Fawaz for the right money and even if I lose will still (one day) be British champion.”
He added: “I’m yet to be a 12 round fighter, but I’m getting there.”