An incredible story of overcoming adversity unfolded in Manchester this past weekend. Former British regional champion Jack Rafferty defeated former WBO Global welterweight champion Ekow Essuman via sixth-round corner retirement on Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. This was Rafferty’s return to welterweight since becoming a BBBofC super lightweight champion in 2024. However, that’s not the reason his story is so important and inspiring.

“On Wednesday, 3rd September 2025, doctors gave me between 24 [and] 48 hours to live, due to a serious illness,” Rafferty shared on Instagram after his win. “I made it through. I was massively out of shape. I was down and depressed, but I was NOT OUT. I had that ‘I CAN DO IT’ feeling burning. A promise that I made [to] my mother, I would be a champion. That was the driving force that made me get back to where I am today.

“It’s been hard work but well worth it. Like I said, ‘You can do anything if you want to remember that. ‘YOU CAN DO IT.’”

Following his draw against Mark Chamberlain in August 2025, Rafferty fell gravely ill. Reports online revealed that the Lancashire native was intentionally using his post-Chamberlain time off to rest his body, heal nagging camp injuries, and get married. However, the rest of the details about the seriousness of his illness were kept largely under wraps.

Though the specific nature of Jack Rafferty’s illness wasn’t revealed to the public, he made a remarkable recovery from death’s door, decided to move up from super lightweight, completed a lengthy training camp, and secured a spectacular TKO victory over Essuman—truly inspirational.

It wasn’t as if the bout last weekend was easy either. He was facing Ekow Essuman, a respected, tough, and ambitious veteran. The fight unfolded on the undercard of Fabio Wardley’s WBO heavyweight title defense against Daniel Dubois. There were no visible signs of illness or fatigue evident on Rafferty when he stepped into the ring on Saturday.

During the fight, Rafferty controlled the action with his sharp jab and accurate power shots, opening a nasty cut over Essuman’s left eye in the third round. After six one-sided rounds, Essuman’s corner retired him due to the cut and accumulated damage.

With the win, the Brit became the new WBA Continental Gold welterweight champion. Rafferty’s story, however, is one of many in boxing.

Daniel Jacobs beat cancer and won the world

Back in 2011, Daniel Jacobs was just 24 with big ambitions for his career. He had suffered a loss at the time, but he was a rising boxer. Then he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare, aggressive bone cancer. The tumor was wrapped around his spine, leaving him partially paralyzed.

Like in Rafferty’s case, doctors gave him a very grim prognosis. He went through major surgeries and radiation, which meant he may never fight again. However, that’s not what ended up happening. He battled through intense treatments, recovered mobility, and made a comeback in 2012. 

He fought Josh Luteran in his first fight since the surgeries and secured a first-round knockout win. He went on to win a regional title and even became the IBF world middleweight champion in 2018.

Such stories just go to show that sometimes the biggest fights aren’t inside the ring.