Cancer is an illness that impacts most, if not all of us at some point in our lives. One of my heroes was my grandpa, who passed away from skin cancer during COVID. I missed his last years as travelling back home would’ve resulted in forfeiting my status to work in the US and instead communicated with him daily via video calls from 2-4am when my family was allowed to enter the hospital room. This past February, I was finally able to go home for the first time in 5 years to say my goodbyes. My grandpa was not a boxer, but his wife/my grandma, was an avid fan and my fondest memory of her was her screaming at the TV, ice cream in hand. Few events in your life are as humanising as watching the invincible heroes in your life embrace their kryptonite with immense grace and unwavering strength. On the flip side, few events will give you the fortitude in life your loved ones already believe you possess. This bout is an opportunity to challenge myself to a proper battle and to help others who cannot battle for themselves.

In the words of the greatest boxer of all time, “I’ve wrestled with alligators, I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning and thrown thunder in jail. You know I’m bad. Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean, I make medicine sick!” – Muhammad Ali