Coronavirus has already dealt a blow to Newcastle Big Issue vendor Earl John Charlton after it forced him to cancel his charity boxing match to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
But Earl remains bullish even during the lockdown and is continuing to train at home to ensure he will come out the other side fighting – and ready to get in the ring at a later date.
Popular seller Earl, who has become a fixture of Newcastle’s Central Station in his years selling the magazine, was due to put on the gloves on March 21 after he raised £775 in memory of his father and uncle.
It’s really nice and it really lightens the heart that so many people are thinking about you at this time
Now the Newcastle vendor, 41, is throwing himself into a training regime while he is stuck in self-isolation to ensure he his fitter than ever for the rescheduled bout.
Earl told The Big Issue: “I was devastated that the fight was postponed. I’ve lost so many family members to cancer and so many friends. I was also doing it for a personal challenge too.
“Living life the way have addiction and street life, I wanted to do it to make sure I was capable of doing this sort of thing but also to show that people can turn it around and can do positive things.