Grant Dennis turned to boxing as a safer alternative to football.

Next weekend he’s got the chance to show a hometown crowd just why he swapped boxing gloves for football boots. A leg break at the age of 20 made Dennis realise that football wasn’t for him.

He said: “I felt that football was too dangerous and I turned to boxing. It took over from there. I played Kent League football for Maidstone United and Lordswood as a youngster but broke my leg when I was 20, a compound fracture.

“I was through in on goal and got tackled. My leg was stuck in the mud and he came through on me, bang. I stood up and my ankle was facing the wrong way. I knew then there was something wrong.”

It’s been a long road since quitting football and turning to the professional side of boxing but now, at the age 31, he’s ready to make an impact.

His first pro fight against Bulgarian Tzvetozar Iliev ended in a points win. He followed that up with a third-round stoppage win against Lithuanian Sergej Drob.

“Both of my previous fights were at York Hall and there was a great atmosphere there but I am buzzing to be fighting in my home town,” said the Walderslade-based boxer.

It will be like friends-reunited for Dennis next Saturday night (March 14) at Medway Park. He has sold more than 150 tickets. Even old mates from Glencoe Junior School will be heading to the Gillingham leisure centre to watch.

Medway boxers Ricky Rose and Sonny Whiting are on the same Medway Park show. Tickets are still available from 07883 943994.