When Ace Adam was around 17-years-old two chancers who wanted his phone tried to mug him near his home in Catford.

The incident prompted his concerned uncle to take him to Balham Boxing Gym, and eight years on Ace has now decided to become a professional fighter.

"It was wrong place wrong time," Ace said when referring to the mugging.

"They tried to get my phone and I tried to defend myself. I didn’t know much but I knew how to throw a left and a right. I ended up hurting my hand."

He managed to keep his phone and soon after was taken to a boxing gym to follow in the footsteps of his grandad, Lloyd Barnett, who was a professional heavyweight. 

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Ace, who won a national light-heavyweight title in the Queensbury Boxing League, is now heading into the pro ranks after 18 amateur fights, but is juggling full-time work with training.

He works as a care supervisor for the elderly in Bromley and once dreamt of working as a child play specialist.

"I run in the mornings, work during the day and train in the evenings," Ace said.

"I enjoy it and I know it’s a journey. My end goal is to become a world champion and I will remember where I came from when I do it."

Ace, who now trains at Sting ABC in Croydon, wants to use his platform as a boxer to be an inspiration to young people and said knife crime in London is "crazy" as it stands.

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He described himself as a "local normal boy from Catford" who proves that hard work pays off.

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"Don’t steal, don’t rob, just work diligently, save money and do what you need to do," Ace added.

Ace is now entering a division where two Londoners before him reached the pinnacle of boxing, George Groves and James De Gale.

The Catford boxer wants to go one step further and unify the division and is keen on challenging the likes of Chris Eubank Jr along the way.

"If you’re confident you have to think you’re the best," he said.

Ace, former 2014 Amateur Boxing Association champion, hopes to have his first professional fight in the summer and wants south London to get behind him.

He added: "All my friends and family are really excited and happy for me. With my grandfather being a boxer, they just said that it’s in my genes."

Ace hopes to make his debut around June and you can keep updated on his ring career through his Instagram page @OfficialAceAdam.