Video: Brave rape victim and boxer ready for the challenges ahead

The 27-year-old super middleweight from Eckington chalked up his eighth straight victory last weekend at the Magna Centre, Rotherham, outpointing Callum Ide.

Just a short time prior to the contest, Hancock had publicly revealed in The Star that he had been raped as a 10 year old boy.

His attacker is now awaiting Crown Court sentence while Hancock plays an active role both as an athlete and a campaigner for victims' rights.

The boxer admitted he didn't know how he'd managed to concentrate on the sport of boxing with everything else that had been going on in his life.

"Mentally and emotionally that has been the hardest training camp of my life" he said.

"Disclosing my truth, being sexually abused and raped as a child, taking my perpetrator to court...I have lost two friends in this training camp, it's been one life obstacle after another, but I overcame the obstacles."

Hancock will fight again on December 9, but he has a lot of work to do with other sex abuse victims in the meantime.

"There are big projects underway in Sheffield, aimed at getting children to talk to their parents' if they have undergone abuse.

The Ryan Rhodes-trained boxer said the NHS, police and city council would be supporting him.

"We are going to better lives, no more silence, no more brushing it under the carpet."

*Callum is working with Duncan Craig of 'Survivors Manchester' (0161-236-2182) a voluntary organisation "for male survivors of sexual abuse."  They want a  similar set-up to be launched in Sheffield.

*In Sheffield, male victims of abuse can currently ring a helpline (0808 802 9999) or go to sheffieldrapecrisis.org.uk/services.

Alternatively, ring victim support (0300 303 1976.) Read more at: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/boxing/exclusive-video-courageous-boxer-publicly-reveals-he-was-raped-as-a-10-year-old-boy-in-sheffield-police-solve-historic-crime-1-9344043