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When I saw my dad jailed I found boxing and Jesus

Scots boxer 'Amazing' Alex Arthur has revealed he would never have won his world title without his secret weapons - his loving wife Debbie and his religion.

T devout Christian revealed he found religion aged 10 when his father, Alex Sr, was jailed for attempted murder.

He said: "My dad didn't want me to be a boxer. He barred me from fighting. But he'd wake me up in the middle of the night to watch early Mike Tyson fights live on TV.

"In the late 1980s, he was sentenced to a prison term for attempted murder.

"It was heartbreaking to see him being taken away - a very difficult time for me. My dad was a hero. I looked up to him. It was hard to cope with what happened.

"When he went to jail I went to a boxing gym. He couldn't stop me.

"I found boxing and Christianity at exactly the same time. I met a young lad, Thomas McCallum, who came from a similar background to myself.

"He took me along to his church to play for their football team. The great thing was that after every game they laid on a huge spread of soft drinks, cakes and biscuits.

"With my dad in jail, chocolate biscuits were in short supply in our house so I went along.

"One day a church elder said: 'Do you know anything about Jesus?'

"I said, 'No, I just come here for the sweeties'.

"But when I stayed back I really got into the Bible stories and scriptures and became fascinated by Christianity. I decided there and then to dedicate my heart to Jesus."

Alex said: "I believe I've been given a gift from God to let people know there's more to life than money, sex, drinking and drugs.

"I feel I can encourage people to live a better life. My faith helps me to live the life I need to be a successful boxer.

"And it's helped me be morally a much better man. I live by the Ten Commandments. They've made me the man I am.

"Some people think I'm strange. They see me as a Holy Joe but it's more of a problem for them than it is for me."

Full story at the Sunday Mail.