Boxer Robbie Graham ready to become a champion again after almost losing his life

Robbie Graham got a big hug from his auntie Helen after winning the Scottish welterweight title. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer shortly after.

However, within a couple of weeks of defeating Highlander Andrew Smart to claim his first professional title, the 29-year-old's world was turned upside down that left him on the brink of death.

After his auntie lost her battle to cancer, his cousin also passing just a short time later, Graham admits he turned to drugs as a coping mechanism. But things got progressively worse as he then split with his partner and moved out the home they shared with their two young children.

And after taking an overdose one night, Graham was rushed to hospital with doctors unsure if he was going to survive.

But he's here to tell the tale and is now targeting an extraordinary comeback to the ring and claim back the belt he feels is rightfully his.

"There were a lot of dark times and I was in a very bad place," Graham told the Evening News. "My auntie Helen was my biggest supporter and she was meant to be at the fight when I beat Andrew Smart. But she was dying of cancer and was under sedation for 48 hours and the first thing she said when she woke up was, 'Did Robbie do it?'

"I went down and got a picture with her with the belt and then within a couple of hours she passed away. My cousin, my auntie Helen's daughter, then died just two weeks later.

"I ended up turning to drugs as a coping mechanism, and my partner left me, took the kids, so I lost my family and then my two jobs. I was on top of the world in March and then within weeks it all came crashing down.

"I gave up everything. I didn't wash, brush my teeth, I didn't leave my bedroom for two weeks. I just didn't want to be here - I didn't see a way out.

"I spent two days in hospital after overdosing. They had to resuscitate my heart in the ambulance on the way to hospital. I then had to go into therapy."

Boxing had become somewhat of a distant memory during Graham's darkest hours but the undefeated Meadowbank gym star is now more hungry than ever for success.

He said: "I want to get back what's mine. I'm raring to go again, back training and just desperate to get back into the ring. Life isn't always so straightforward. I've got myself a new flat, furnished it, got a brand new job so I feel in a much better place.

"I've got a gentlemen's agreement with Sam Kynoch for me to fight Ben Bartlett (the current Scottish champion) in the new year. I want it back. I didn't lose it, I vacated it because my mental health was spiralling out of control. There's no shame in it. Tyson Fury has bounced back so it can be done. But this is my story.

"I'm on a mission in 2024. I can't wait to see the back of this year. I just want to be the best version of myself. I hope this can inspire people out there.

"I've never been afraid to give up the good and go for the great. I hit rock bottom so I can't go any lower. The only way is up. I feel like a different animal and now have the heart of a champion and I'm going to prove it again when I step inside those four ropes."