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A TEENAGER who is battling the same rare form of cancer that cost his father his life was given a boost in his bid to become a professional boxer when he visited a world famous gym in Hollywood.
Tyler White, 18, of Andover Way in Aldershot, rubbed shoulders with some of his idols at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles last week during a visit with his boxing club.
Tyler was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2012, after having seen his father Paul pass away from the disease in 2009. After four cycles of chemotherapy, two months of radiotherapy and a lifesaving operation to remove fluid from around his heart, Tyler is in remission and has his sights set firmly on achieving his ambitions.
The former Connaught School head boy got the chance to train in the famous gym, owned by former professional boxer Freddie Roach, for two weeks with 11 other members of Aldershot's ARD Training Camp, returning on Sunday.
Tyler said: “For me to go and have the opportunity to train somewhere like the Wild Card a year after my operation was special.”
The Hollywood visit followed a meeting with Carl Froch in Manchester last November, organised by Sky Sports. Tyler was given ringside tickets for the fight against George Groves, was brought on stage to be introduced to the crowd and then met his hero. Tyler has fought a local rival in the Princes Hall and hopes to turn professional. He has also visited The Connaught School to speak to pupils.
“I hope I inspire them to keep trying and working hard,” he said.
Pupils recently completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, raising money for Frimley Park Hospital, along with Fleet's Calthorpe School which supported the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.