Dillian Whyte is set to earn a £6million payday for his world title fight with Tyson Fury, but money hasn't always come easy for 'The Bodysnatcher'.
Whyte challenges for a world title for the first time when he faces WBC champion Fury in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley this Saturday.
The interim titleholder had a childhood full of hardships in Jamaica and credited boxing for saving his life. The 34-year-old might be set for a career-high payday against Fury, but he recalled a story from his earlier days in which he desperately tried to make £200 just to pay his opponent a few hours before their fight.
"I don't like talking about my story too much or getting into it, because there's a lot of unpleasantness and darkness in my life and in my story," Whyte told BT Sport. "So I just get on with it and focus on the positive, but it's been one hell of a road man, it's been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of struggles.
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"There was fights where I had to pay the opponent £1700. I had £1500 and I needed to find the other £200. I was fighting at 9 o'clock and I was outside the venue at 8 o'clock, trying to sell the last few tickets. Trying to do a deal like, 'Oh, I'll give you three tickets for £60' trying to get the money to pay the guy!"
Whyte moved to the UK at the age of 12 and spent his teenage years in Brixton. He soon found Miguel's Boxing Gym and made a career out of fighting, trying his hand at kickboxing and MMA before settling in boxing.
His mother had to work three jobs in Jamaica and send money across to the UK to provide for Whyte, so it's no surprise Whyte didn't expect to end up in the position he's in. "Kids like me, where I come from, shouldn't be alive, doing well and surviving," he added.
"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 onto me because of the way I was brought up and the things I was exposed to and the way my life was."
BT Sport Box Office will show Fury v Whyte exclusively live on Saturday from 6pm. For more information go to bt.com/sportboxoffice
