In 1991, Michael Watson was told he'd neither walk or talk again after a ferocious encounter in the boxing ring with Chris Eubank. Peter Sherlock met and spoke with him at Edmonton's AXE FM to discover how inspiring his fightback had been.

A former boxing champion whose struggle against adversity inspired millions has bought a special message to Edmonton youngsters.

Michael Watson was visiting the studios of urban digital radio station, AXE FM, in Bounces Road, on Friday to discuss his autobiography, The Biggest Fight.

The former Commonwealth Champion was left brain damaged and paralysed after a brutal encounter in the ring with Chris Eubank, in 1991.

He told The Independent: "People said I was never going to walk or talk again, but look at what I'm doing now. People said that I couldn't do it but I have proved them wrong, over and over again."

Watson, dubbed the People's Champion, capped a remarkable decade-long fightback when he completed the London Marathon in 2003.

And he told youngsters listening to AXE FM to use his story as an inspiration to go on and fulfil their dreams.

He said: "Stay positive and don't give up hope, always believe in yourselves, you can be somebody if you have a positive mental attitude."

The son of Jamaican immigrants, Watson's thoughtful, composed boxing style ensured he rose quickly through the ranks following his debut professional bout in 1984.

In the late 1980s, Watson's rivalry with fellow Middleweight boxers Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn brought a new domestic audience to the game.

In 1989, he faced Benn for the British Commonwealth Middleweight title in a temporary show ring erected in Finsbury Park.

With devastating style, Watson became the first man to knock the aggressive but preening Benn to the canvass, catching him with a knockout punch in the sixth round.

The father-of-two, who lives in Chingford, smiles when he remembers that night.

He said "Nigel was the hardest fighter I ever came across, and he had the most explosive knockout. Beforehand, they labelled me Michael What's-his-name but what a surprise Benn had that night."

Following the victory, Islington-born Watson faced the provocative Chris Eubank at Spurs' White Hart Lane Stadium in one of the most hotly anticipated middleweight fights of all time.

It was a night that changed boxing forever. After a brutal 11 rounds, the referee stopped the fight and awarded the title to Eubank.

Watson, who had taken a flurry of punches while struggling on the ropes, collapsed in the ring soon after the fight was stopped, with a blood clot to the brain.

The sport came under immense pressure to reform. Since that fight, it is not possible for a fight to go ahead without two teams of paramedics and an anaesthetist waiting ringside.

When he woke from a coma 40 days later, doctors told him it was unlikely he would walk or talk again. "I was just skin and bones," said Watson.

After years of intensive therapy and six brain operations, Watson started walking again and regained the ability to eat, read and write.

He became an instant national hero in April 2003, when he completed the London Marathon in six days, walking the final stretch of the 28-mile course arm-in-arm with Eubank.

He said: "I enjoyed it totally from day one and I always knew I would complete the final lap because I am a firm believer in my own potential, I am a fighter."

Of his relationship with Eubank, he said: "We're okay. I have forgiven him and there's no animosity."

DJ Pablo G, of AXE FM, which attracts up to 2,000 young people to its blend of urban music broadcast on www.axefm.co.uk added: "We are trying to give kids positive role models and to give them hope to keep them off the streets. To have someone like Michael here is an inspiration."

Watson now takes part in community work, inspiring children to fulfil their potential and overcome odds.

He said: "I am taking everything as it comes, just one step at a time. "The race is not for the swift, it's for those who endure."