Kevin Lueshing bravely reveals, for the first time, how he survived barbaric childhood abuse to become a British boxing champion.

The Belt Boy is a harrowing - and yet ultimately inspirational - account of childhood cruelty and how one of its most unlikely victims, a tough British boxing champion, courageously confronted the hideous scars inflicted during a tortured upbringing.

Kevin Lueshing won the British welterweight title in a battle so ferocious it was voted boxing fight of the year. He then went on to challenge for a world title and, against all the odds, knocked down one of the sport's most feared and respected boxers in an epic showdown.

But while the newspapers, TV and radio stations applauded his achievements, there was one story they knew nothing about. 

From the age of five, Kevin Lueshing was a victim: first cruelly and viciously beaten by his own father who would order his son to select a belt from his wardrobe to be beaten with. Secondly, Lueshing reveals how he was cynically and patiently groomed by a local paedophile - who he innocently mistook as a friend - and who lured him into months of sexual abuse. 

It was an ordeal that left deep psychological scars, threatening to destroy the adult Lueshing was inevitably growing in to.

In the end, boxing broke the cycle and against all the odds proved to be Lueshing's salvation. Very few top sportsmen are willing to talk so openly, honestly and in such explicit, raw detail, about sexual abuse. It is a male taboo, particularly in boxing, the ultimate brutal sport. 

The Belt Boy is not only a harrowing account of what childhood abuse looks like, it is also a rare insight into the realities of professional boxing. Lueshing reveals how contracts were drawn up and signed by some of the biggest  promoters in the sport; how he was offered money to throw a fight; how he supplied marijuana to Mike Tyson, and how his own sexual deviancy left him incapable of being faithful.

Lueshing found affinity with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, proudly stitching NSPCC on his shorts as he battled to win the British title. He raised funds for the charity and even spoke, on their behalf, to hundreds of MPs about the realities of childhood abuse.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the charity.

Hopefully, this book can help further raise awareness and remove any sense of complacency towards the dangers of child abuse. 

The Belt Boy is Lueshing's uncensored story; ultimately, it is proof of how the human spirit and love can prevail - no matter how extreme and desperate the odds.