麻豆社

In 2017 pro-boxer Ashley Lane won a Commonwealth Boxing Council title. He then lost the title in 2019, and in March 2020 as lockdown hit and the sport was forced to shut down, Ashley did what many other professional sports people did - he got a job. In the months that followed Ashley did a lot of soul-searching, confronting some of the more difficult issues in his past including being bullied in school, periods of homelessness, unemployment and bulimia. Now, finally, his life has stablised - he's got a steady income, a house, a wonderful partner, and a renewed outlook from his daily sessions of yoga and meditation. He is done. It's time to retire from the sport that has been his life since the age of fifteen.

But then, out of the blue, comes the call. A chance to fight on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua v Kubrat Pulev title match on December 12th, a major pay-for-view event. It's money, but more than that, it's a chance to recapture a place on the grand stage of boxing. With his trainers and his partner encouraging him, Ashley accepts the challenge.

Producer Toby Field follows Ashley as he prepares for the fight. They talk about Ashley's reasons for leaving boxing and his decision to now return. It's a story about redemption and determination, but it's also the story of who's in that ring with you, in your corner, when the bell starts the first round.

Produced for 麻豆社 Audio in Bristol by Toby Field
Presented by Grace Dent