He has encountered some trying times and he hasn’t boxed in over nine months.
Still, Anderson Emmanuel isn’t down for the count.
Once touted as Barbados’ best amateur boxer, the 29-year-old heavyweight is set to return to the ring in an effort to restart his career.
In an interview with NATIONSPORT while attending the Lionel Hall/Carlton Hope Memorial Boxing Tournament over the weekend, Emmanuel revealed that he had already started training after taking a break.
The four-time gold medallist at the Caribbean Boxing Championships explained that after having gone through some “tough times”, he was now focused on getting back into the ring.
“I had taken a break due to the fact that I was more concentrating on my work,”?he said. “Right now I’ve started back training and I’m struggling a bit to try and get my weight off, but hopefully I will be back in the ring next year.”
Emmanuel, who at one point was considered Barbados’ best chance of an Olympic medal in boxing, said that he thought he needed a break after years of continuous training.
“I had never taken a break in my boxing career and I just thought that the time was right.
“I now have a job which has me working shifts, and I found myself being more into my job because I have bills to pay and everybody knows that bills come first,” the 6ft 3in pugilist said.
Five months into his training stint, Emmanuel is more than upbeat about his chances of reviving his career.
He said that at one time he even thought about turning pro, but he quickly realized that the idea didn’t “make sense”.
“There just aren’t enough opportunities for a boxer to make a living,” he added.
Emmanuel, who boasts bronze medals from the Commonwealth Games, Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games, isn’t entirely out of the woods yet, though.
Having been charged with robbery in 2011, which saw him being remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds, he disclosed that the case was still an ongoing matter.
Despite that, Emmanuel is still optimistic that he can get both his life and his boxing back on track.
“I’m still going through some issues right now, but hopefully things will work out, and I will be able to concentrate on my boxing.”