A DAD from Dudley Port has donned boxing gloves to bring the fight to cancer after losing three close family members to the disease.
Kenny Harrison was left devastated after losing his mother and two grandparents to lung cancer only a few years apart.
The 29-year-old faced further tragedy when his 10-week-old son died suddenly, leaving him struggling to open up about his grief.
But Kenny found friendship and confidence by taking on fundraising boxing matches and is already training for round two in the ring only days after his first bout.
The football coach, who also works as secondary school sports teacher, has been taking on the boxing challenges to raise money for cancer research.
Kenny lost his mum Tracy Harrison to lung cancer six years ago, only hours after his first son Freddie was born after years of IVF treatment.
Freddie tragically passed away from a cardiac arrest a few weeks later.
Then Kenny's much-loved grandparents Kenneth Harrison, aged 86, and Margaret Harrison, aged 83, both died earlier this year - also from lung cancer.
He said: “I had my first kid through IVF. That day my mum passed away at 48.
“But I made it back in time for her final moments.
“When my grandparents died, it was devastation for everybody. They were the rock and glue for the family.”
Kenny threw himself into sport as a way of dealing with the grief - and it has proven transformative.
He joined Sands United FC - a football team named after the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity made up of fathers who have lost a child - and went on to launch Sands United Warwickshire FC.
Kenny said: “People say you’re a man, just get on with it. If you’re a man, you struggle to open up.
“I couldn’t open up until I met up with a group of lads. We set up teams for bereaved dads.”
READ MORE: Popular Sedgley pub The White Lion Inn is offered for sale
READ MORE: New Disney themed café open at Primark store at Merry Hill
Then he was signed up with Ultra White Collar Boxing (UWCB), which allowed him to raise money for Cancer Research UK by training and putting his newly-acquired boxing skills to the test.
Participants like Kenny are given chance to take part in eight weeks of free professional boxing training before a showcase event in front of hundreds of spectators.
Those taking part are asked to sell tickets and raise at least £50 for Cancer Research UK.
So far, Ultra Events - the company behind UWBC - has raised £19 million for the charity.
Kenny was secretly signed up to UWBC by his partner of three years, Rachael Williams, aged 34.
Together they have a son, two-year-old Cayden Freddie, and Kenny is step-dad to Rachael’s three daughters.
Kenny said: “My partner believed in me more than I believed in myself.
“She makes me a better person - she’s been a rock.”
Kenny started training at Bushbury Fitness Centre Wolverhampton and he said: “I’ve met some good friends now. It’s such a rewarding thing.
“The hardest thing was believing in myself - self-belief and confidence.”
Although he lost his first match on December 17, Kenny raised £351 for Cancer Research UK - and aims to beat that target at his second boxing match on April 15.
He said: “I’ve been trying to raise as much as possible - anything is better than nothing.
“If we fight against cancer then we can win.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here