Eddie Hearn hopes Preston's Scott Fitzgerald gets help he needs to get life and boxing career back on track

The Matchroom promoter believes the unbeaten former British super-welterweight can reach the top of the sport.

But the 29-year-old Commonwealth Games champion’s well-documented battle with mental health issues and drug addiction continues, recent pictures on social media showing him in a poorly condition and dishevelled state outside a pub in Preston.

Fitzgerald has posted online to reassure fans that he will be okay, but Hearn insists he needs to properly face up to his issues outside of the ring before resuming battle inside it.

“I’ve been speaking to Scott a lot,” Hearn told iFLTV.

“To be honest, you can’t just grab someone by the arm and take him in somewhere to get help, they need to recognise and realise they need it, and that’s probably the biggest challenge right now.

“I believe I can get Scott in camp now, get him away from everything and get him ready to fight, but that’s just papering over the cracks.

“We need a good three, four, five weeks of understanding where we’re at, understanding where the problems are and then return to boxing because right now, and I’ve said this to him, boxing is secondary.

“All he’s saying to me is ‘get me back, let’s get a new trainer’. No, no, we’ve got to pull back a little bit, strip everything back and build again and the foundations get built from a solid mental position and making sure you’re ready to fight.”

Fitzgerald had nearly two years out of the ring after stunning back-to-back victories over domestic rivals Anthony Fowler and Ted Cheeseman.

He returned in Manchester in May with a third-round stoppage of Frenchman Gregory Trenel, but it proved to be a false dawn.

“We got him back in the ring in Manchester behind closed doors,” Hearn said.

“We had these problems before that, he was back in the gym, everything was good, finished the fight and then we reverted back to the same problems again.

“We can’t afford for that to keep happening.

“This kid has got so much potential, he’s in such a great division, he’s unbeaten, he’s got a massive fanbase, he’s got everything there for him, I just need him to listen to people around him that care and take that leap of faith rather that saying ‘I’m fine, I’m fine don’t worry about that’ like I saw on social media.

“We need to worry, because we care about him, and he needs to understand that and get the help he needs.

“We need to do the right thing before he gets back to training and solve this problem.”

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