His body had been battered for 12 gruelling rounds, but boxer Luke Campbell was feeling a pain far worse than the physical one.
Few people watching his world title fight against Jorge Linares in September 2017 knew the Olympian was secretly grieving for his dad Bernard, who lost his life to cancer two weeks earlier.
He kept the news private for fear of showing a chink in his armour. “I felt it was the decision I needed to make, as a fighter,” says Luke, who was narrowly defeated on points. “I didn’t want to give my opponent an extra advantage.
It would be like going into battle without a sword. “My dad told me I would be world champion one day. I wanted to do it for him.
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