Rehman pledges to be champ who came from out of shadows

Poster for Ali Rehman’s pro debut at Holiday Inn next month

McCRACKEN’S gym unveils a new pro next month and he vows to take the sport by surprise.

Switch-hitting Ali Rehman, who makes his debut on the August 24 show at Birmingham Airport’s Holiday Inn, is something of an unknown commodity.

As an amateur with Birmingham’s Eastside, he didn’t pull up trees during a 25 bout career. That, Ali insists, was down to a lack of desire and dedication.

He’s now focused and backed by friends in high places. Both current red hot prospect Ibraheem “Spider” Sulaimaan and acclaimed rapper Jaykae are colleagues who persuaded him to go pro.

And Ali, from Cape Hill, Smethwick, can certainly talk the talk: “it comes from all the time talking to customers in my dad’s off-licence,” he laughed.

In a few weeks we will discover if he can walk the walk.

“The sky is the limit,” the 21-year-old told me. “I want to be a world champion, I want what is right for me. Everyone tells me you have all the tools in the bag. I want to get in there and show everyone what I’m about.”

The super-flyweight is not lacking in confidence.

He is managed by Spencer McCracken Snr, trained by Spencer Jnr who Ali praised for realising the potential and patiently nurturing it.

“As an amateur, I never took it too seriously,” he said. “A lot of people told me I was a talent. I’ve now learnt you have to put 100 per cent into everything in life.”

He walked away from boxing to work in the family business – only to be persuaded back by “Spider” and Jaykae.

 “My dad owns an off-licence and I was always there learning the trade,” Ali said. “Last year Jaykae went down to my dad’s shop and spoke to him. I have a really good friendship with Spider and he always told me to go to the McCracken’s gym.

“My dad’s supporting me. He was a fighting man himself back in the day.”

As a pro, Ali has warned fans to expect the unexpected.

“My style is awkward,” he said. “I like to hit and I don’t like getting hit. The power is there, but I’m not about power. I’m more of a strategic, tactical boxer who breaks people down.”

We’ll know a lot more about Rehman after August 24. I’ll reserve judgement until his debut, although the man himself believes those present will witness the start of something big.

He added: “I’m that person you don’t see coming. Spencer Jnr told me, ‘you’re the one that comes under the lights’. He said, ‘it’s early stages, but you are showing promise’.”