“I was born alone and I will die alone, so continue your journey.”
That statement from British light-middleweight Ismael Davis may not be good at face value, but his harsh outlook on life has developed through some tough years in training.
At age 14, Davis was kicked out of school, kicked out of her childhood home and faced with the responsibility of caring for her newborn sons.
“I’ve made a little progress,” Davis told BBC Sport.
“I lived with my first mother with my son at 14, went to a hostel until I was 15 and then I had my own flat.
“Because I’m not losing weight it’s hard. I’m only losing about 100 pounds every two weeks. It’s a tough time in my life but these are the things I’m going through.”
Davis, now 30, first stepped into a boxing ring aged 12 and took part in an unlicensed fight the following year, but any dreams of pursuing sports were further tested by his children.
Although he was still a child, Davis turned to the streets of chapeltown in leeds to finish.
“I was nine years old when I had my first children. After that I wanted to be out on the streets all the time and I got into gangs,” said Davis.
“Because I had young children, I started selling drugs.”
Davis will find himself in prison shortly and along the way some of his closest friends and family are walking.
On 15 November he faced Sam Gilley for the British and Commonwealth Lights titles on the undercard Jr V Conor in his previous four fights.
Davis talks about how his life would be different if it weren’t for boxing and his personal drive.