The European middleweight champion admitted he has spent years pursuing his dream but it has “cost money” for most of that time.

He told Boxing News magazine: “When I boxed Linus Udofia at York Hall for the English title, I got £2,400.

“I did 10 rounds for the English title and that was the purse. By the time you’ve had your camp and everything, you’re down, you’re miles down. It has cost you money.

“Now, when you can think about doing stuff with your purse, you realise how far you’ve come and the hard work is paying off, finally.

“Some kids want to get into boxing for the money but I think it’s probably the wrong choice.”

Instead, the 32-year-old father-of-four continued to work full-time as well as boxing until relatively recently, when a sponsor offered more funding.

He recalled: “I only stopped doing the plumbing before the River Wilson-Bent fight in 2021.

“I remember when I fought Derrick Osaze, in the fight before that, my sponsor S+R Construction said I needed some time off work.

“He told me to take a month off and he’d pay my wages.

“After that, he said I needed a year off but work said no.

“Then he said to get rid of my job and he’d pay me for a year.

“That was a big risk for me but he said if boxing doesn’t work out, he’d give me a job.

“It has been two-and-a-half years now and I just don’t ask him about it really.

“He always says as long as I keep winning he will keep looking after me but as soon as I lose I need to be at work on Monday. I hope he’s just joking but I think it might be serious.”