Newark boxer Tom Cowling pulls out of Carl Greaves' Scunthorpe card

Newark prospect Tom Cowling is fighting for his future in boxing.

Manager Carl Greaves rated Cowling’s professional debut as one of the best he’s seen ­— but has had to pull the 22-year-old off Friday's show in Scunthorpe and fears he may not box again.

Cowling has been struck down by sciatica ­— pain affecting the back, hip, and outer side of the leg ­— leaving him barely able to walk.

Greaves said: “Tom has had this problem for a while. He hasn’t been able to run for two and a half years.

“He’s been fighting through the pain and he told me ‘If I can walk, I want to fight’, but he can barely move now.

“He’s walking with a limp. He knows it needs working on.

“He’s been to see specialists before and it clears up for a while ­— and then it comes back.

“Tom is a massive prospect who I’m really excited about and it’s going to be so frustrating if he can’t perform to his best or can’t carry on his career.”