BERNALMADENA / DUBAI: The afternoon sun blazed over Epic Gym in south Spain, casting long shadows through the open doors where a much younger Theo Brooks (25) had wrapped his hands. Now, at twenty-five, those same hands had carried him to an unexpected crossroads – undefeated, untested, and hungry for something more.
Four wins. Zero losses. Three knockouts.
On paper, Theo Brooks was still a prospect, a name whispered in British boxing circles but not yet shouted from the rafters. Ranked 400th in the world among his weight, he existed in that peculiar purgatory where talent meets opportunity – close enough to see the summit, far enough to doubt he’d ever reach it.
“My power is one of my strengths—they say I’m good as counter puncher,” Theo had told anyone who’d listen, his voice carrying the distinctive blend of Spanish sun and British grit. “I’m confident into my fifth fight as professional, but when some make mistakes in the ring—these are the moments I’m waiting for and make them pay for any mistakes.”
It was this philosophy, this patient violence, that had defined his early career. While other young fighters brawled recklessly, accumulating wins and damage in equal measure, Theo studied. He waited. He struck with the precision of a man who understood that in boxing, as in life, timing was everything.
But patience, he was learning, had its price.
The Last Farewell – a new book about world funeral traditions – is one of his sponsors.
The Dubai Opportunity
The call came on a Tuesday in October. His promoter’s voice crackled through the phone speaker: “Dubai. November 21st. They want you to fight up.”
“How far up?”
“Far enough that if you win, you’re Top 100. Light heavyweight division, max 79 kilos.”
Theo stood silent in his apartment, staring at the rain streaking down the window – rare for southern Spain, a sign perhaps. This was a leap into deeper waters, against a fighter ranked higher, with more experience, more power.
“And if I lose?”
“Then you’re still undefeated at lightweight. We can bring you back down, rebuild, take the safe route.”
The safe route. Theo knew what that meant – six more fights against carefully selected opponents, padding the record, staying comfortable in the rankings. Building a reputation without risking it. He’d seen a dozen fighters take that path, become journeymen with impressive records and unremarkable careers.
“I’m sure. I always make sure I don’t make stupid mistakes.” This fight wasn’t just about moving up the rankings. It was about proving that all of it – the sacrifice, the discipline, the years of waiting for his moment – had meant something.
The Preparation
Training camp began the next morning in Epic Gym, Benalmadena Costa, and continued one month later in a Gym in Golden Ring Boxing Gym in Dubai. Theo’s coach, Albert Ayrapetyan, a weathered former boxer with scar tissue over both eyes, stood in the center of the ring.
Light heavyweight is different,” coach Alberg said. “These men carry more muscle, more weight behind their punches. Your speed advantage won’t mean much if you can’t handle the pressure.”
“Knowing and surviving are different things”
Epic Ggym became his monastery. Two hours a day, six days a week. Sparring and learning to take shots that would have dropped him a year ago. Learning that toughness wasn’t about not feeling pain – it was about continuing forward despite it.
In the evenings, he watched tape of his opponent, ranked 155 in the world. Charles Redeemer from Ghana was technically sound, with a granite chin and a tendency to walk through punches to land his own. He’d been in twelve-round wars. He’d fought on major cards and was everything Theo wasn’t – proven, established, dangerous.
“He’s beatable,” Theo said before training in Dubai. “Everyone’s beatable. Question is whether you’re the one to do it.”
Theo didn’t answer. He let the question hang in the air like incense, like a prayer he wasn’t ready to speak aloud.
Doubts in the Desert
Dubai is a city of glass and ambition rising from the sand, where everything seemed possible and nothing felt quite real. Theo arrived four weeks before the fight, his weight stable at 82 kilos, his mind a mix of confidence and quiet terror before he reached matchweight on 78 kilos.
“My goal for next year is to be as active as possible and boxing for my first title,” he’d told reporters at the press conference. The words sounded hollow in his own ears, aspirational rather than declarative. Could you claim a goal you weren’t certain you’d achieve?
The night before the fight, sleep wouldn’t come. Theo stood on his balcony, watching the city lights blur and sharpen, and allowed himself to think the thoughts he’d been suppressing for weeks.
What if he wasn’t good enough?
What if his four wins were flukes, mismatches against inferior opposition?
What if the ranking system had gotten it wrong, and he was really just an average fighter with above-average luck?
His phone buzzed. A text from his mother: “Te quiero, mi campeón. You were born for this.”
Born for this
He thought about the countless hours in dusty gyms, the meals skipped to make weight, everything he had withered because boxing demanded everything and left room for nothing else. He thought about girlfriend Carmen, about coach Albert, the kids he trained who looked at him like he’d already succeeded.
Maybe he had been born for this. Or maybe he’d chosen this, which was both more frightening and more empowering.
Theo won his match in Dubai on a knock-out.
Knock out in Dubai. “I always make sure I don’t make stupid mistakes,” Theo said before the match in Dubai But the truth was more complex. Success wasn’t about avoiding mistakes—it was about making the right ones, about taking calculated risks when everyone advised caution, about believing in yourself enough to step into the ring with someone better and emerge victorious anyway.
After Theo Brooks knock-out victory in Dubai he is ranked in the World Top 100, and understand that his greatest fights weren’t behind him. They were still ahead, waiting in the future he was brave enough to fight for.
