Sheffield heavyweight star ready to rebuild after injury setback
Teagn Stott has had to have surgery to rectify a hand injury
Boxers have to be brave - it's in their DNA. But maybe Sheffield's Teagn Stott is a little too brave.
The heavyweight injured his right hand representing Great Britain in Hungary in March.
Such was his competitive nature and passion for the sport, he carried on sparring and competing. But ignoring the pain can only last so long.
And in the last couple of weeks he has had to have surgery to rectify the issue.
Now he has months of rehabilitation before he can start to rebuild his reputation as one of the nation's top amateurs.
"I had severed a tendon or ligament or something on the back of my hand, either through repeated punching over the years or one big shot in the amateur gloves" said the Hillsborough 23-year-old. "I think it might have been a mixture of both.
"I remember it going in March this year in the second round of a GB tournament in Hungary.
"After that, I felt it all the time, even from a light punch. But I did what boxers do - and pushed through the pain.
"Since Hungary I went on to so many things, I went to Brazil and boxed in a world cup, in April, and then been in training camps where I have just made it worse.
"I went to France, Ireland and Spain, in multi-nation training camps, and it all led to needing the surgery.
“If I had not been as brave, at the start, I might not have needed the surgery. I just kept lying to people and lying to myself...thinking it would just be all right. And it wasn't. I kept making it worse."
A surgeon in Manchester had to shave bone from his right hip and pack it into the back of his hand before fusing it all together, to form one bone, the World Silver medal-winner said.
"It's sore after the op, but it will start settling down in the next couple of weeks. It is tough to be off, but it will give me time to develop into the new weight of 90kgs. It is bittersweet, really.
"I'll be back doing light bags in three months and fighting again at the front end of 2027."
The dream is to take part in more tournaments and then the Olympics in 2028, under the guidance of Rob McCracken at Sheffield's EIS.