Boxer turned jiu-jitsu star Jason Easton feared for his life but is now making headway in new discipline

Former champion boxer Jason Easton has revealed how he had to battle back from the point of no return.

Having lost his licence to fight in 2018, the now 30-year-old admits he fell into a very dark place and even contemplated suicide.

After turning professional in 2015, Easton regularly starred on TV alongside world champion Josh Taylor as the duo shot up the super lightweight rankings.

But it all went sour when, following a drunken night out in 2017, Easton was hit with 250 hours of unpaid work and a supervision order following an unprovoked attack on a 26-year-old male in the Capital.

Jason Easton has been standing on top of the podium a lot lately in jiu-jitsu

As a consequence, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) revoked his licence.

And to compound matters further, unsatisfactory medical reports following a knock-out defeat to Glenn Foot at the Hydro in Glasgow, turned out to be the last straw for the BBBofC.

"I ended up getting signed off work," said the father of two and soon to be three. "It got really bad to the point I was having suicidal thoughts. I don't think I would ever have gone through with it but it was always there in the back of my mind. I was having panic attacks and my anxiety was just through the roof.

"I was scared to go to training and there were points when I was on the bus going to visit my family and I just had to get off. I couldn't do it. I felt people were laughing at me. I think the paranoia just overcame me. It's the worst I've ever felt in my life. I've been open about everything whereas before I would just bottle things up.

"In the lead up to my last fight I was in and out of court so my head just wasn't in it. I had so much going on that I couldn't focus. When I look back at the ring walk, I looked so ill.

"After the fight I had a CT scan which showed blood on the brain. But I took a lot of punches in the fight so there was always going to be wee marks there. I then had an MRI and that came back fine and the neurologist said everything was good. The board then said if I completed my community service, they'd give me my licence back. So, I got everything in writing from the medical professionals saying I was fit to fight only to get turned down. I then appealed it again more just than a year ago and got rejected again so that's it."

But a new door has opened for Easton who is now regularly competing on the continent in the martial art of jiu-jitsu.

A prodigy of CVA jiu-jitsu based in Peffermill, Easton added: "I'm loving jiu-jitsu. I've won 34 out of 38 matches, I'm winning medals, competing in Europe so I have found something I enjoy after boxing. I actually did a bit of jiu-jitsu when I was boxing but I couldn't really take it seriously. I now have the time to compete but it can be hard because it's all self-funded and costs a lot of money. I do think I want to try and get into MMA and have been doing some sparring so we'll see what the future holds."