Dan Breeze: a “what could’ve been” story

Dan Breeze in his fighting days…a middle with talent to burn

DAN Breeze – former Black Country pros and trainers will tell you – is the one that got away.

The Bloxwich middle had talent to burn and roasted it on a bonfire of ill-discipline. He is the butt of an unkind joke on the local fight circuit: “Dan could avoid any punch you threw, but he couldn’t avoid the fridge.”

Drink was never a vice, food certainly was.

Breeze possessed textbook skills and a fine boxing brain.

Yet at 20 – an age when most boxers begin their paid careers - Dan walked away with a record of 10 straight wins and stepped into the shadows of bare-knuckle boxing, taking part in four contests without gloves, winning three. It is a move he bitterly regrets.

I was stunned by the decision – taken at a time when things were just beginning to bubble for Breeze – and savaged it in the Birmingham Mail.

Dan Breeze, immensely likeable and unnervingly honest, has been to a very dark place, pitch black enough for the father of twins to consider his place on this earth.

“Bare-knuckle was the coward’s way out,” he told me. “I had been to a dark place, the darkest place. I did bare-knuckle because I didn’t have the bottle to do it (inflict punishment) on myself. I didn’t train for one of them, I was hung over half the time. I was a mess. I know depression is just a word, but it nearly destroyed me.

“They offered me £2,000 (for bare-knuckle) and I took it. I should never have done it. I’m not knocking people who do bare-knuckle, but it wasn’t for me.”

Breeze, now near free from his demons – “I have good days and bad day” and with a new partner – is consigned to sports’ “what might have been” club. The list of members is long.

Like so many athletes with natural ability, he had a finger on the self-destruct button.

Dan was an outstanding amateur for Walsall Wood ABC, winning 62 of 75 contests, collecting three national titles and representing England on three occasions.

In hindsight – a wonderful thing, he should’ve stayed longer with the unpaid code, but decided to punch-for-pay at just 18.

Guided by Jon Pegg, Dan immediately established himself as one to watch. The flame burned brightly, but all too briefly.

Breeze today (back row, centre) with Tyson Fury

At least his short career ended on a high. Dan’s final, winning eight rounder with Natty Howell in 2016 was a memorable, sell-out occasion at Villa Park. There was pre-fight needle before Dan prevailed.

“I always trained as hard as the man next to me,” he insisted, “but I struggled with my food, I struggled to keep the weight down. I never drank. When I fought Lewis van Poetsch (Breeze’s penultimate fight) I knew I didn’t want it anymore. At least Natty (Howell) got the buzz back.

“I was too young, really, to turn pro, but it was an alright career, I met some good people. I think I could’ve fought for a British title – I’m not saying I’d win one, but you can’t say. I think the fight with Natty should’ve been for something, we were both good enough.

“I was a good ticket-seller and that was partly my downfall, I was a bit of a lad. If you don’t mix, you don’t sell tickets and, maybe, I mixed too much.”

Dan, at 27, is young enough to come again, but a return is unlikely. “I’ve thought about approaching the Board, but I work away and I’d have to lose the weight. It’s time I haven’t got at the moment.”

When Breeze was on his all-too-brief pro journey, a very respected trainer told me: “That lad’s going to be something special.”

Exactly how special is something we’ll never know. There’s nothing more bitter in boxing than unfulfilled promise.