Carl Frampton’s opponent this weekend from Australia, Luke Jackson, has come back from the brink of deep depression and mental health issues to find himself in arguably the biggest boxing event ever staged in Belfast – arguably home to the best boxing fans in the world.
Jackson might be an unknown quantity to many in boxing but upon learning about his story one cannot hold anything but admiration for what he has come through to get to where he is today as a professional fighter.
A fighter in every sense of the word.
A difficult childhood took its toll on Jackson a few years back where he said in the build up to this weekend to BT that he used to hold a crossbow to his mouth without ever pulling the trigger, as well as holding his breath to see how long he could last.
Those dark days are thankfully a thing of the past for Jackson now, but as he tells BT Sport here (hat tip) they are never far from his memory:
"I used to point a loaded crossbow down my mouth."
"I'd drive in the car with my eyes shut and see how long I could hold my breath for."@LukeJackson has come back from the very brink…
Watch the remarkable #NoFilterBoxing interview in full ➡️ https://t.co/12fLOnQIuM pic.twitter.com/GhdvVKQc7s
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) August 16, 2018
An incredible comeback story.
No doubt Jackson will be looking to spoil the Carl Frampton party this weekend with potential fights against Oscar Valdez and Josh Warrington on offer for the winner.
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