A Westhill man has taken part in his first ever boxing match to raise money for charity in honour of his late father.
Mark Hepburn, 54, pulled on the gloves in memory of Hugh Hepburn, who worked as a doctor for the British Boxing Board of Control.
He died of cancer, aged 80, two years ago.
Mr Hepburn, a mental health counsellor, trained hard ahead of the showcase Ultra White Collar Boxing event at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen on Saturday, which helped raise funds for Cancer Research UK.
During the fight, which he won, Mr Hepburn was supported by his partner Debbie Stevenson, daughters Alice and Grace, and his brother, as well as his friends and work colleagues.
Ultra White Collar Boxing gives participants the opportunity to take part in eight weeks of free professional boxing training, before a showcase event in front of hundreds of spectators.
Those taking part are asked to sell tickets for the show and raise at least £50 for Cancer Research UK, with the company behind it, Ultra Events, raising more than £26m for the charity since it began.
Mr Hepburn aimed to raise £2,000 for the charity and so far has succeeded this goal by reaching £2,530.
‘He was quite a man, quite a character’
Mr Hepburn’s father worked full-time as a GP in Stonehaven until he was 78 and Mark said: “He was quite a man, quite a character. He couldn’t conceive of giving up work.
“He went into decline in November 2019. He suffered a fall when he was on holiday and he never really recovered from the fall.
“He fell again in 2020 and ended up in hospital. We found out the myeloma caused the fall. We thought he might live for a reasonable time with the myeloma but he went into decline.”
Not only did Mr Hepburn take on the challenge in memory of his dad and his love for boxing, but he also did it to show support for his two siblings – who have both survived their own rounds with cancer.
Brother Stuart, 46, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, while his sister Fiona was diagnosed with breast cancer a year later.
‘We didn’t have a family history of cancer, we seemed to have avoided it’
He said: “We didn’t have a family history of cancer, we seemed to have avoided it. Stuart had to go through extensive surgery and chemotherapy. Ultimately he is well, he is doing great – very healthy. He’s recovered really well over the course of the years.
“Pretty soon after my brother was erring towards the end of his treatment in 2015, my sister Fiona was diagnosed with breast cancer which was quite aggressive. So she had to go and have her treatment and she has also survived thankfully.”
Mark trained with the Aberdeen boxer Lee McAllister at Assassin Health and Fitness Village on an eight-week course alongside other fundraisers.
McAllister was one of the athletes his father looked after when he worked as a medical professional at amateur bouts across Scotland, which paired his love of the sport and his passion for medicine.
‘It was a brilliant experience’
Talking about the weekend’s event, Mr Hepburn said: “Saturday night was fantastic, it was a brilliant experience. Just the whole thing, everything about the whole experience from the starting of the training to the actual kind of buzz of walking out into the arena.
“You’ve got 900 people watching you and it’s quite a feeling to be honest.”
Urging people to take part, Mr Hepburn added: “If I can do this at 54 – and I am sure I’m not the oldest person to do it – if I can do it and have so much fun training with people younger than me, anyone can. It’s a brilliant way to do fundraising.”
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