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Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.
In the middle of Connor Benn’s heavily tattooed torso is a large cross and on his lower abdomen is the words “Fear God” written on his skin.
Since childhood, Ben has been a devout Christian, but his commitment to the faith has been subjected to some serious tests.
Ben moved to Mallorca, Spain with his parents and siblings when he was a young child, spending 12 years there.
From the outside his life had all the trappings of luxury but the reality was much different.
“I lived in a beautiful house – a beautiful mansion – and went to private school,” Ben told BBC Sport.
“It was very Christian, very religious. The school was very extreme and the church was very extreme.”
“Christmas was blasphemous, so we couldn’t celebrate it,” he added. “It was all too much.”
Ben, 29, attended a fundamentalist Christian school and was told that “the world is coming to an end.”
His parents were fully involved in the evangelical life and the experience left Ben with scars far deeper than those he received inside the boxing ring.
Around the age of 12, the school believed that Ben was “possessed by demons.”
“It was very shocking,” Ben said.
“You would wake up in the morning and not know if the Antichrist was here or not.
“As a child, you are easily influenced by people in these positions or authority.
“Looking back — because I don’t think about it much — you think it’s quite sinister.”
As Ben prepares for his rematch against Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday and attempts to avenge the only defeat on his professional record, he told BBC Sport about his memories of the church and how his father Nigel eventually forgave Ben.
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