ANTHONY JOSHUA did Gary Cornish a favour in the course of 90 painful seconds at London's O2 Arena two years ago.
Any pretensions that the giant 6' 7" Highlander had that he was equipped to rub shoulders with the very best in his weight class were ruthlessly dispelled by the future world champion.
The Inverness boxer's lightbulb moment led to him seeking a fresh career path under the tutelage of MTK Scotland and Glasgow trainer Billy Nelson, formerly coach of world champion Ricky Burns.
It has turned out to be a profitable move, for Cornish will realise his dream of fighting for the vacant British heavyweight title against Englishman Sam Sexton at Meadowbank Arena on October 6.
No Scot has ever held the Lonsdale Belt at the weight, but Cornish believes he is now ready to accept the challenge after separating himself from his family and friends in Inverness to focus on his career.
"I don't regret taking the fight with Joshua," he said yesterday. "It showed me that I needed to be schooled better and we've picked up on a lot of the mistakes I was making.
"So it was a good thing that I fought him. It was a sound learning curve and, also, fighting in front of thousands at the O2 Arena stands me in good stead for the future.
"Billy has given me my drive back, and while it's hard being away from my family and friends, I've dreamed about being the British champion since I started boxing, so it had to be done."
The bout forms part of an exciting British title double-header also featuring Edinburgh cruiserweight Stephen Simmons against another Englishman, Matty Askin.
It won't be the first time the pair have met after Cornish recalled their paths crossing at a training camp in Fort William several years ago.
He said: "He was sparring with Dereck Chisora, who was supposed to be fighting Vitali Klitschko, and I got a phone call to go down and help out.
"When I saw them sparring together I thought if I can get anywhere near that level, I'll be doing well.
"I was only an amateur at the time and I must have thrown about 400 jabs to Chisora and I was knackered after one round.
"Chisora told me that I needed to calm down and I did and I felt I did well. That's when I decided I could make a go of this."
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