Bradley Rea will aim to put two and a half years worth of frustration behind him when he fights Shakan Pitters for the vacant European light heavyweight title this weekend.

Rea was unfairly cast into the wilderness after losing a decision to future European middleweight champion, Tyler Denny, in November 2022 and has been waiting for a chance to return to the big stage ever since.

In February it looked like Rea’s patience had been rewarded but a high profile slot on the undercard of the undisputed light heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol disappeared when his opponent, Constantino Nanga, withdrew through injury.

In April, the 27 year-old leapt at the chance to step in and fight former European 175lb title holder, Daniel Blenda Dos Santos, when Pitters was hospitalised during fight week.

Rea weighed in and made it to the venue only for Dos Santos to withdraw just hours before the opening bell.

Dos Santos was stripped of his title and Rea (20-1, 10 KOs) and Pitters (20-2, 7 KOs) were nominated to fight for the vacant belt and agreed to fight on a GBM show in Galway, Ireland.

Two weeks ago, the show in Galway was cancelled and moved to Hull although Rea braced himself for the worst when he saw that his manager, Steve Wood, had been trying to contact him.

“I woke up and I had a missed call and then had a 'call me' text,” Rea told The Ring.

“I sat on the end of my bed and I was thinking, 'Surely not.'

“I don't think I'm going to believe it's happening until Pitters is absolutely jabbing my head in in round one. Then I'll go, 'Right, this is real now, it's actually happening.' It just feels like everything's fell into place.”

Before getting involved in the saga with Dos Santos and Pitters, Rea had been linked to a fight for the English title but his willingness to take a challenge has seen him leap up a couple of levels.

That ambition looks to have paid off.

Rather than a spur of the moment trip to London, a rush to make weight and an all or nothing gamble against Dos Santos, Rea and his trainer, Andy Abrol, have had weeks to prepare and put together a real gameplan to get past former British champion, Pitters.

“This camp's been perfect and it feels like this is the one where nothing's going wrong. This is the one where it's going to happen and this is the one where I'm going to become European champion,” Rea said.

“I do think it’s a tougher fight than the Dos Santos fight. But these are the type of fights I want to be in. These are what I've been calling for for the past 12 months.

“I want to be in these fights. I want to be fighting for titles and headlining shows. This is where I feel like I belong and it's down to me to go and show that now.”

Since losing that decision to Denny, Rea has shown his determination to succeed.

He left his home in Manchester, moved to Blackpool and has got on with the job of staying busy on unglamorous small hall shows.

Rea has demonstrated his desire and beating Pitters would put him in position to reap some rewards for his efforts.

“It's absolutely stacked in the light heavyweight division,” he said.

“There are so many good fights that can be made and I want to be in the mix. I feel like it’s been, 'Who needs me?' in the last 12 months. I'm a risky fight and I've got nothing to offer but once I pick up that European title, there’s the target on my back then and that's my bargaining chip to get into these bigger fights.”

Standing 6ft 4in tall, Rea was a giant middleweight who has filled out well since he decided to stop fighting the scales and move to 175lbs. Rea has been campaigning at a lower level since losing to Denny but has dealt with his opposition ruthlessly and proven his power by scoring five straight stoppages.

Rea is an aggressive fighter who is more than willing to give away his physical advantages and fight inside but his height and reach has always given him the fallback of keeping a fight long.

That won’t be as an attractive an option against the 6ft 7in tall, career light heavyweight Pitters.

“I think I'm about five foot anyway, the way I fight sometimes,” Rea said.

“I just see it as another challenge that I've got to overcome. He’s got a lot of good aspects that I'm going to have to find an answer to and the height and range is just another one but I'm confident in my ability that I'm going to be able to do that.

“I can't remember the last time I boxed someone taller than me. I think I was about 13 years old. It's just an exciting challenge and I'm confident that I've got the ability to take what's seen as an advantage away from him."

Rea has banged the drum loudly for a chance to prove his worth but after everything he has been through it would be perfectly understandable if he adopted a “win at all costs” mentality as Saturday’s first bell draws nearer.

That isn’t the case. Rea is determined to not only leave Hull as the European champion but as one of the most spoken about fighters in the light heavyweight division.

“I've got to win good. I'm not happy to nick a close decision. I need to impress,” he said. I've been talking the talk. I’ve been telling everyone that I'm not the same kid that boxed Tyler Denny. I’ve come on leaps and bounds.

“I've got to go out and show it. Winning isn't enough. For me, I need to go and make people take note. I need people to get up off the seat and go, 'Bloody hell, that is a new and improved Brad.'

“That’s what I plan on doing. Winning isn't enough for me.”