A BOXER from Llandudno faced his first fight in three years after beating a rare form of cancer – and won.
Mike Egan, a former Muay Thai kickboxing champion, beat Manchester-based fighter Paul Smith on a unanimous decision at Llandudno’s Broadway Boulevard on March 25.
It made for an emotional evening for Mike, who was initially told in August 2021 he had Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, before being re-diagnosed the following month with lymphoblastic t-cell lymphoma.
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But Mike, who is also a coach and personal trainer at Gym 13’s Rhos-on-Sea, was given the all-clear in January 2022, and was delighted to return to the ring.
He said: “It was mega. I feel like performance-wise, I was maybe in third or fourth gear, but the atmosphere at the fight itself was insane.
“I walked out to ‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones and everyone was singing along. It was the busiest I’ve ever seen the venue, and the most tickets I’ve ever sold for a fight.
“I felt quite emotional on the day, but I had a little cry on the way to the venue and after that, I felt like I’d got it out of my system.”
The fight came after Mike, who is also supporting the Relay For Life Gwynedd and Anglesey event on June 17, underwent months of intense chemotherapy at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.
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His diagnosis came after he had discovered lumps “the size of ping pong balls” in mid-2021, and he still has roughly a year left of the maintenance therapy stage of chemotherapy.
To celebrate his victory, he said, “I went and got a ham pizza!”
Mike added: “I’ve still got chemo, so I couldn’t drink too much, so I just had a couple of glasses of Prosecco, and a ham pizza. I still enjoyed the night and had a laugh, though.
“I’m really pleased with how the weekend went, but watching the footage (of the fight) back, part of me thinks I could have done a little bit better.
“Part of me wouldn’t mind a few more fights to see the year out – I don’t feel like I’ve had my final say just yet!”
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