Torquay boxer, 20, turns professional and becomes his club’s first to make the leap

Torbay Amateur Boxing Club is celebrating a major milestone after 20-year-old boxer Neo Judge has turned professional.

Neo becomes the first boxer from the club to make the leap into the professional ranks, marking a significant achievement for both the young fighter and the club that has helped shape his career.

Speaking to the Torbay Weekly, Neo said: “It’s quite exciting! I can’t wait!”

“I’m the first one so it's a really big opportunity.”

“I’m proud to do my club very well and I want to see how far I can go for such a small club in Torbay."

He will be managed by the highly regarded Richard Grigg and trained by his coach, Darrell Asplen.

Neo has had a hugely successful amateur career and has amassed 20 stoppages in 63 contests, a remarkable feat rarely seen in amateurs.

He has also won back-to-back gold medals at the Haringey Box Cup, claimed the Heart of Dragon Box Cup title and become a three-time Riviera Box Cup champion, where he was also named ‘Most Outstanding Boxer’ in 2025.

While Neo’s first match as a professional is not yet confirmed, he is likely to enter the ring around late February or early March.

As he prepares for his professional career, Neo maintains a demanding training schedule.

He said: “So I'm in the boxing gym five times a week - monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, saturday.”

Alongside these regular sessions, he also frequently runs.

This high-intensity training programme means that Neo has had to make several sacrifices to get to where he is today.

He said: “Whenever my friends are going out, you know having fun, I’m never out and am always in the gym.”

“Never seeing my girlfriend I'd say is also a big sacrifice because I’m always here.”

For Torquay-born Neo, boxing has played a major role in his life since childhood.

He reflected on where his journey began and said: “I was probably about eight years old and my step dad at the time was doing it to keep fit.”

“I thought it would be interesting to start, so I gave it a go, it was in Torquay, and then I guess I fell in love with the sport ever since and just wanted to keep going and see how far I could get.”

Neo joined Torbay Amateur Boxing Club nearly eight years ago and has since gone from strength to strength.

He credits much of his progress to coach Darrell Asplen, whose guidance and support have played an important role in his journey.

He said: “I think it's been amazing and I think Darrell has been such an amazing coach, he's helped me through it and been so supportive.”

However, the sport isn’t always easy and Neo said some of the most challenging moments are setbacks with training.

He said: “Sometimes it feels like it’s not going your way, but I guess it’s just about digging in and just keep going when times get hard.”

When it comes to inspiration, Neo looks towards some of boxing’s biggest names, particularly Dmitry Bivol and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

He said: “I’m gonna say Dmitry Bivol. I love his style, and also Lomachenko,” he said.

“With Lomachenko, his style is really unique and he's a southpaw the same as I am and I guess I look up to that, the way he is very technical.”

Neo believes individuality is an important quality in boxing and that fighters should develop their own style rather than imitate others.

When speaking about Bivol and Lomachenko, he said: “I look towards their uniqueness and they’re very different from most boxers.”

“I’d say it's good to be unique in the sport, there's no point copying people.”

“You’ve got to do it how you are.”

Neo has a bright future ahead of him and has one goal in sight.

He said: “In five years time I’d say I’ll be training for a world title shot.”

As he prepares to embark on the next chapter of his boxing journey, Neo is looking for sponsors to help support his ambitions.

Anyone interested can get in touch with Neo or Torbay Amateur Boxing Club.