Prince Patel Calls For An End to His Industry Ban
- Matthew Brown
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
02/05/2026
Top contender Prince Patel is calling on the UK boxing industry to end what he believes has been a long running blackballing of his career. Despite a glossy record (34-1-2, 29 KOs) filled with knockouts and accolades, Patel has remained largely ignored by major news outlets and promotional entities in his home country.
In an exclusive interview with Brunch Boxing, Patel spoke candidly about where he believes things went wrong and how the silence from the industry has affected him.
“100% like I feel like I got blackballed, blackballed, blacklisted… I believe 100%. But I’m one of them people. God loves a prayer and you can’t keep someone like me down.”
Earlier in his career, Patel was locked in a loud and public rivalry with former flyweight champion Sunny Edwards. The constant back and forth between two outspoken UK personalities captured the attention of fans and created the sense that a major showdown was inevitable. Despite the momentum, the fight never came to fruition.
Patel points to his dealings with Probellum as a turning point. “I was going to sign with Probellum at one point. Lee Eaton offered me a deal, but then everything he said in the build up to what was offered in the contract was completely different. There was a three fight deal. The final fight was supposed to be against one of the Edwards brothers or a Probellum fighter, but then it never materialized. And then there was no real offer made for it.”
Probellum launched in late 2021 under the leadership of former Golden Boy executive Richard Schaefer and UK businessman Ali Shams Pour. The company was soon surrounded by controversy due to allegations of links to Irish drug lord Daniel Kinahan. Kinahan’s company MTK Global had ties to Probellum’s initial trademark, raising red flags across the sport. Kinahan, who has been in hiding from global authorities for nearly a decade, has been identified as a senior figure in the Kinahan Cartel and is currently wanted by Garda, the DEA, and the NCA. As scrutiny intensified, television networks shuttered their deals and promoters quickly distanced themselves from Probellum.
Many fighters caught up in the Probellum collapse eventually landed with other major promoters. Patel did not. He found himself frozen out, effectively a man without a country in the boxing world.
Rather than retire, Patel chose to take his career abroad. He boxed across Latvia, Germany, Czechia, Poland, and Hungary, but his most impactful run came in Africa. In what had long felt like an untapped boxing market, Patel found opportunity and acceptance in countries such as Tanzania, Ghana, and Egypt. He collected regional titles, built a fan base, and even broadcast his fights on his own YouTube channel. As major promoters now look toward Africa as boxing’s next frontier, Patel believes his journey helped spark that interest.
“Ghana boxing gave me an award as a pioneer, an ambassador, because they recognized that I was the man that brought Europe and America to Africa to recognize it as a potential powerhouse for boxing.”
Patel’s connection to the continent extends far beyond the ring. He remains actively involved in charitable efforts, particularly in Tanzania. “Currently I’m involved in sponsoring a nursery in Tanzania. I give them money every month. Want to help aid them tykes. I believe every kid’s entitled to education. I’ve always believed I was born to help people out. I wanna eventually try to bring build like academies in Africa and in India.”
Despite his global success, acceptance in England has remained elusive. Promoters, news networks, and podcasts have largely turned their backs on him. Patel remains undeterred. His ambition now stretches across multiple weight classes, from super featherweight to welterweight, with champions and contenders firmly in his sights. Names like Rolly Romero and especially Gervonta Davis sit at the top of his hit list.
“The cream always rises to the top. I’ve proven that on different, many different occasions. Like who do you know on their own can go around the world, knock people out, pick up championship gold, get world rankings in multiple weights, not just one weight or two weights in multiple weights?”
Prince Patel is not asking for sympathy. He is demanding recognition, and he intends to force the industry to acknowledge a career that refused to die, no matter how hard it was pushed aside.
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