Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte has had quite the life to date and is a prime example of the positive boxing can do for troubled youths and help turn their lives around.

Whyte now finds himself on the brink of a world title shot but standing in his way on July 28th is Joseph Parker at the 02 Arena.

Ahead of the fight Whyte sat down in a very open interview with Sky Sports’ ‘Off Limits’ show to chat on some of the hard times he had in the past when he first moved to the UK from Jamaica.

Whyte became a father at the age of just 13 and after that found himself in trouble by hanging around with the wrong crowd as he got older.

Culminating in some very extreme circumstances at certain points.

When asked about being shot, stabbed three times and kidnapped, Whyte said:

“For me I got into the wrong company, started hanging around with the wrong people. Trying to fit in also, trying to fit in. Following people and stuff like that. One thing lead to another and next thing I know I was getting in trouble all the time.”

He continued to say on where he’d be without boxing:

“In prison or probably dead. I’m grateful that I found sport and discipline. I always had desire and drive but I didn’t know what to do with it. I always enjoyed fighting. I was always fighting all the time, sometimes two or three times a day. People on my estate would be getting bullied and I would actually fight for them.”

Those memories are a distant thing of the past for Whyte however who now finds himself getting closer and closer to the very top-level of professional boxing.