Dillian Whyte feared he would be dead or in jail for murder before his 21st birthday.
The heavyweight world title challenger has the opportunity to recognise a life-long dream on Saturday night when he faces Tyson Fury for the championship in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. But he wasn't always a millionaire boxer, coming from the streets of Jamaica to live in the UK when he was a child.
Whyte had a difficult upbringing, and felt he would end up eventually in prison or dead by his early twenties. Ultimately, boxing dragged him out of that place, and he is now just one fight away from becoming the world heavyweight champion, and netting a huge £10million payday.
"Kids like me shouldn't be where I am," Whyte told BT Sport ahead of his fight with Fury this weekend. "Kids like me, where I come from, shouldn't be alive, doing well and surviving.
"I'm far off where I want to be; I'm not comfortable and I'm not content with where I am. I'm still struggling, I'm still driving and I'm still hungry. I've still got fire in my belly but I just want to get in there and put on a big fight and win the title, leave it all in the ring and prove to myself and other people, and my family, that it's not where you come from or where you start, it's where you finish.
"I didn't think I'd be alive after 20 or I'd be in prison doing charges for some murders or something crazy. I didn't think I would be alive because that was the lifestyle that was forced on to me because of the way I was brought up and the things I was exposed to and the way my life was."
Who wins on Saturday night; Dillian Whyte or Tyson Fury? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Whyte suffered hardships at home in Jamaica while his mother worked in the UK, before eventually being able to reunite after turning 12 when he emigrated to London. He added: "My mum left me as a kid to go the UK to build a better life.
"My mum was working three jobs, she had other kids and she was trying. She left me with people, she was sending money but they were using the money and not taking care of me and I was abandoned.
"It taught me a lot of things; I learned to survive, I learned to be tough and I learned to be resilient. I never thought I would be here talking about a fight for the heavyweight championship."
