If there is a grain of truth in the superstition that bad luck comes in threes, Brad Rea should be about to enter a golden period of success.

Just weeks after Constantino Nanga’s withdrawal from their fight cost him a trip to Saudi Arabia and a high profile showcase on the undercard of the undisputed light heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, Rea was presented with another life changing opportunity.

When Shakan Pitters was forced out of his European title fight with Daniel Blenda Dos Santos last weekend, Rea leapt at the chance to step in on three days notice and take on the French champion.

Rea, 20-1 (10 KOs), made his way to London, made weight and was ready to get gloved up when he found out that Dos Santos had decided that he was too ill to fight.

Rea has spent two and half years battling back to prominence after been unfairly cast to one sided after losing a hard fought decision to Tyler Denny and his latest piece of misfortune left the 27 year-old from Stretford bewildered.

“Now that I look back, I think on the day there were a few little things but you're just in fight mode so I didn't really take much notice,” he told The Ring about the hours leading up to the postponement.

“I was at the venue and I saw the doctor and he said to me ‘Is your opponent coming over, then?’ and I thought that was a bit f——-g weird but I just said, ‘I hope so, yeah.’

“So, obviously, they had heard something at that point but, like I say, when you're in fight mode, it kind of just goes over your head, doesn't it?

“I walked in, looked for Izzy [Asif, the show promoter]. and when I seen him lock eyes with me and saw his face I just knew what was happening.”

In the past, Rea’s most disappointing moments have been compounded by the feeling that he had been almost instantly forgotten. This time, his whirlwind week didn’t end with a disappointed trip back north and there is a feeling that his fortunes could be about to finally change.

In February, Dos Santos was forced out of a title defence against Pitters after failing a brain scan and his last minute withdrawal from the fight with Rea forced the EBU quickly into action.

Last week, the governing body announced that Dos Santos had been stripped of the belt and that Rea and Pitters had been ordered to meet for the vacant title. GBM Sports will stage the event.

Pitters needs time to recover from the issues that forced him out of the fight but once he receives the all clear and a date is set, Rea will end up having around three months to prepare for a European title fight rather than three days.

“The only thing I was worried about was that they'd strip Dos Santos, Pitters would be next in line and I was just the last-minute replacement that gets pushed to the side. Now I've seen my name down on the paper, that’s made me relax a little bit,” Rea said.

“I took a risk on three days in a row against the European champion and now I’m in a position where - once again - everyone’s been speaking about me the last few days and I'm going to get a European title shot with a full camp I've just got to try and look at the positives, I guess.

“I'm not going to believe this next fight until Pitters is stood in front of me, jabbing me in the head. Then I might realise that I’m actually fighting. I'm due a stroke of luck and everything happens for a reason, doesn't it? If me beating Pitters to win the European title is the reason why these things haven't come off, then so be it.”

The fights against Nanga and Dos Santos are just the latest examples of Rea suffering bad luck or bad treatment. His misfortune started back in November 2022 when he lost that close decision to Denny.

After building his reputation on the small halls, he stepped up during the Covid-19 pandemic and blew Lee Cutler away in the very first round on a Matchroom card.

The spectacular performance didn’t earn him a deal and a few months later, Rea appeared on a Boxxer show. He racked up four more wins and an opening round knock out of the undefeated Craig McCarthy led him to a vacant English middleweight title fight against Denny.

At the time, nobody could have imagined that a competitive fight between ambitious, talented fighters could have such stark consequences for winner and loser.

Denny eked out a decision victory and went on a run which led to him to the European title and a fight with Hamzah Sheeraz at Wembley Stadium. Rea was cast into the wilderness and hasn’t appeared on television since.

If Rea does end up vaulting a couple of levels and stepping directly into a European title fight, few could begrudge him the opportunity.

“It’s crazy. One thing for me, I feel like any time I've been in TV fights, I've always kind of been exciting which is what the fans want to see,” Rea said.

“Win or lose, I don't think I could have really offered much more but, look, you've just got to f——-g bite the bullet at the end of the day and get on with it.

“I always had the mentality of records being for DJs. Get in with anyone and you don't want to lose but if you do, so be it, bounce back. I think from what happened to me, you can see why people are scared to take them risks.

“You take one loss against someone who goes on to be European champion and you're sidelined for two and a half years.”

These days, promoters like to talk about wanting to change long held attitudes within the sport and reward fighters who are willing to take on challenges and provide entertainment rather than protecting their undefeated records.

Rea could be forgiven for listening to these grand plans and shaking his head. He has answered every call and was punished harshly the very first time one didn’t pay off.

Rather than criticising rivals who prefer to tread carefully, he now understands exactly why they take that route.

“I can see why these people do it. I was probably calling them sh-tbags a few years ago but now, I think you can see why,” he said.

“It's a fickle game, boxing. I think the way people are talking, they're trying to push it the other way. They're trying to push it to be a bit more like the UFC where the losses don't matter and you fight whoever's put in front of you but if my case is being used, you can see why people don't want to take the risks.”

Rea hasn’t allowed the disappointment to alter his own attitude to the sport and he isn’t going to suddenly start saying ‘no’.

“I still jumped in there three days notice, didn't I? I don't think so.”