Patrow Debuts Saturday!
October 8th, 2007
By Jesse Kelley

"Bad" Brad Patrow will be making his professional debut this Saturday in Superior, Wisconsin. The limelight will no doubt be on headliners Zach Walters and Andy Kolle but Patrow says that he is excited to be part of professional boxing in Minnesota and looks forward to the opportunity he will be getting this weekend and those to come.
In 2004 Patrow was ranked in the top ten nationally in his weight class. He went on from there to compete in numerous national tournaments so there will be no lack of experience when he makes his pro debut against tough Mexican brawler Jesus Velasquez on Saturday.

You boxed out of the Rice Street Gym as an amateur? Will you be sticking with the same team as a pro?
Yeah Johnny Johnson is my coach, he's been there for me since I was 13. He's a great coach.

You mentioned the age of 13, is that the age you started boxing?
Yeah that is when I started. I took sometime off but then got back into it when I was about 15 I think.

There are a few different shows on the horizon. Are you set to fight on any at this time?
Yeah I am fighting in Superior on October 13th against a kid named Jesus Velasquez. He is a real tough fighter. He fought Allen Litzau twice so I have been sparring with Al for this fight. I know I have a tough fight in front of me. Like Al told me, "plan on going the distance".

I believe you both train at times at the same gym. Are you pretty familiar with his style?
Yeah I have sparred him a few times. We also fought twice as amateurs. I know what he is capable of. He is a tough fighter who will always be there.

What weight will you be fighting at?
For my first fight I will be fighting at 125. From this point on though I want to be fighting between 119 and 122. In the future if I get a chance to fight for a belt I would go down to 115.

There isn't an overabundance of smaller weight fighters in the Midwest but is there anybody you are hoping to get a chance to face either locally or nationwide?
I will fight anybody. I let Johnny take care of that for the most part but yeah, if you want to fight, step up! I will fight anybody around here but there aren't too many people for me to fight around here like you said.

I heard rumors of a possible fight with local featherweight Hassan Wasswa in November. Is that a fight you would be interested in?
I like Hassan but this is a business so yeah I would fight him. It doesn't really matter to me who I fight if the circumstances are right.

Fans who have seen you fight know that you are an unorthodox fighter. Talk about your style in the ring.
Yeah it is a little mixed up. I used to keep the hands down sometimes which I picked up from Jason Litzau. I have been working on keeping them up more now though. 8oz gloves are no joke. I am a boxer but occasionally I like to brawl. I like to switch things up a lot in the ring.

Another obvious difference when going from amateur fighting to pro is the lack of headgear. Have you been sparring a lot without the headgear or will your pro debut be sort of your first run at it?
Yeah I have been doing a lot of sparring without the headgear to prepare. The real difference for me will be the smaller gloves.

This is a question I ask a lot of the new guys turning pro. Some guys fight for many different reasons. Is this a short term or long term thing for you? How far are you looking to take your professional boxing career?
I am definitely looking to take this nation wide. I want to get out there and fight the best and someday go for a belt.

What do you do outside of boxing?
I actually work for my dad. He has a stone business.

Would you like to add anything?
Yeah if anybody needs tickets you can hit me up on myspace(CLICK HERE). Come on up to Superior, October 13th! It should be a great show. Then look for me to possibly be fighting in November in Saint Paul.

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