POOLE boxer Jake Best was perilously close to having his shot at redemption torpedoed by the notoriously capricious M6.

The light middleweight was so desperate to make amends for a shock defeat in April that he waived his fee to appear on a strong Southampton Guildhall bill last Friday.

Things became trickier for Best when tough northerner Willie Warburton got the call to replace scheduled opponent Liam Griffiths, who pulled out days before the fight.

Best’s advisors counselled their man against taking on the stand in – a 143-fight warhorse. But the debate was nearly rendered moot, when Warburton fell victim to this country's chock-a-block motorway networks.

By the time the 30-year-old arrived on the south coast the pair had missed their 7.30pm fight slot. With the night's other bouts stubbornly going the distance, or close to it, Best and Warburton were engaged in a race against time to box before the midnight deadline.

The rivals ended up scurrying into the ring with the clock ticking dangerously close to the witching hour. And Best duly delivered the performance and victory he craved.

Following his emphatic points win, Best told the Daily Echo: "I needed it to be a real challenge, to make me up my game but, on the night, nothing more could have gone wrong.

“We jumped in the ring right at the end of the night just to get the fight done. Considering the pressure and the build-up, I felt I boxed really well.

“The whole occasion was exceptionally draining – then to be told we might not fight at all, it was hard not to let the emotion kick in and lose my temper.

“I stayed calm and won every round. He only caught me with about two shots in the whole fight."

With his hometown loss to Lithuanian Zygimantas Butkevicius – the only negative mark on his professional record to date – firmly behind him, Best can focus on his next slated contest in Bournemouth on July 1.

In fact, if promoters Assassin can fix it, he might box again next month.

In the meantime, though, Best is busy stacking on the pounds in readiness for a different challenge altogether.

The 32-year-old is tackling the Jurassic Coast 100 challenge to raise funds for schoolboy Felix Brown, who is receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Hill View Primary School year six pupil Felix’s own selfless efforts to raise money for Cancer Research caught Best’s eye.

Now he will negotiate the 100km course from Weymouth to Exmouth, all while lugging 35lbs of equipment on his back.

Best, who had added more than one stone to his 11 stone boxing frame within three days of his fight, has 24 hours to cover the distance, starting at 10pm on Friday.

The money raised will be used to send Felix and his family on holiday in 2019, when the youngster will have completed his treatment.

To sponsor Best visit http://www.the-best-team.co.uk/challenge/index.html.