Matty Askin looks to complete his road to recovery by winning a world title this weekend.

Former Blackpool boxer Matty Askin is hell-bent on landing his first world title later this week at the age of 37, writes JONATHAN LEE.

After retiring from boxing seven years ago, Askin found a lack of purpose and an addiction to alcohol damaged his mental health and saw him balloon to 23 stone.

By his own admission, he lost his way but is now proud to be back.

Askin is set to step back inside the ropes on Saturday, fighting Croatian Marko Martinjak at London’s indigo at The 02 for Bare Knuckle Boxing’s (BKB) World Bridgerweight Title: a weight between heavyweight and cruiserweight.

The dad-of-three has slimmed down to 16 stone over his 10-week pre-fight routine and is eager to show the world what they’ve been missing.

Feeling fitter than ever and in the best shape of his life, Askin is ready to give it his all to finally land that elusive world title.

After four months of intense preparation – which has involved daily 5.30am starts at the gym with fellow Blackpool boxing great Brian Rose and his coaching team, and a strict pre-fight protein diet – Askin thanks boxing for bringing him back from the brink.

He said: “After I retired I was going down a bad path, not knowing where I was or who I was.

“If I had one drink, I couldn’t stop. I was addicted.

“I wasn’t any good to my family when I was absent through drink. I suffered mood swings. My mental health was in a bad place.

“I found out that I needed routine and I needed boxing. I went running and I made a deal that I would take up bare knuckle boxing.

“I thought I would have one fight, scratch the itch and that would be it, win, lose or draw.

“Once I got back in there (winning his first bare knuckle fight against Jay Kerr in July this year), I had so much fun.

“I realised how much I had missed fighting and now I am pushing the best I ever have to be a world champion.”

Askin hung up his gloves in 2019 with a record of 23 wins, four defeats and one draw during an impressive 10-year career.

That included a fight with Lawrence Okolie in front of 90,000 fans on the Anthony Joshua-Alexander Povetkin undercard at Wembley Stadium in 2018.

A national champion, winning both British and English cruiserweight title fights, Askin narrowly missed out on landing the big world belts.

Ahead of his second bare knuckle fight – and his crack at that elusive world title – Askin is inspired by his family: wife Samantha and sons Lincoln, Axel and Maverick.

Wanting to show his children that people can fight back from adversity, Askin added: “I am the best version of myself ever now.

“I don’t drink. I have a strict routine. I go early to the gym every day so I can be there to help Samantha get the boys ready for school.

“I want to show my children that all things are possible. I have gone from sitting at home drinking beer, not really being available to my wife and kids, to fighting for a world title.

“I want to show them that through grit, determination and sheer willpower, all things are possible.”

The aim now is to make it a personal and professional double when he meets Martinjak in a contest scheduled to last six three-minute rounds.

Nevertheless, Askin says such big fights rarely go the distance and is determined to be the last man standing, holding aloft that world title belt at the end of the night.

“It would mean the world to me,” he said.

“It would mean I could shut my eyes at night and finally rest easy.”