WHEN Scott Quigg left school aged just 14 to concentrate on his boxing, it was a gamble he was willing to take to make it all the way to the top of his sport.

A decade on and when he walks out in front of a capacity crowd at Manchester’s Phones4U Arena on Saturday to defend his WBA super-bantamweight world title against Diego Silva, his decision will feel vindicated.

The Bury boxer says he always knew sport would be his passion from an early age, football and Thai boxing pre-cursors to his move into the more orthodox ring.

And with his parents Kenny and Lynsay supportive of his decision to leave the academic stuff behind, he made the decision to leave Elton High School early.

It has worked out for the driven 25-year-old who still lives at home with his mum and dad in the centre of Bury.

But he says that is down to his will to succeed, dedication and the huge support of his family as much as his precocious talent.

Quigg told the Bury Times: “I had no interest whatsoever in the academic side of things at school. It was always sport.

“My mum and dad have always said ‘make something of yourself’ and they knew I had the ability to do something in sport, whether it be football or boxing.

“They didn’t want me to waste my talent.

“I dropped out of school when I was 14 and my mum and dad backed me.

“They knew what I wanted to do.

“They got a bit of stick at the time and I wouldn’t advise anyone to drop out at that age.

“If boxing hadn’t have taken off then I would have had to get a job without qualifications.

“But I knew what I wanted to do at the time and I have become a world champion and they are very proud that I stuck to what I said I would achieve.

“I have always been driven to achieve and be someone and be successful.

“I have never been interested in anything else, even as a teenager.

“I would always rather go to the gym on a Friday night than hang around the streets.

“I have always been level-headed like that and it’s down to my mum and dad.

“You can mess about on the street as a kid but how much time are you wasting; you may miss a window of opportunity to be someone.

“If I had done that and just hung around street corners, I wouldn’t be as good as I am today.

“The time and effort I have put in is why I am where I am today.

“I say to my girlfriend when I drive past kids on the streets that I cannot understand them wasting time doing that. They don’t realise their potential some kids.

“Do not get me wrong, you need to enjoy your life but if you want to be someone and achieve success, you have to do things in proportion.

“It’s true you are only young once but when you are older you could be working for a long time because of the time you may have wasted as a kid.

“Most people would look back and agree.”

As a youngster growing up in working-class Lancashire, sport was Quigg’s relief from the schoolwork he admits he did not enjoy.

From as young as 10 he was attending the local Thai boxing gym and playing football.

He had trials for several league clubs, including the Shakers, but when he was released from Burnley for a lack of height aged 15, it was then his attentions turned to the ring.

He added: “I was always a rough and tumble sort of kid who got into scraps.

“After the football ended, I started to do really well at Thai boxing.

“I was British champion and undefeated in that.

“I fought professionally when I was 15 live on Channel Five against a former European champion who was 33 and I was 15. I won and everyone was expecting big things.

“Then, I was running and training for a fight and Mick Jelley saw me out and asked if I fancied doing amateur boxing.

“He said the junior ABAs were coming up and he could get me a couple of fights beforehand.

“I had always wanted to do boxing even while I was playing football. I had always loved watching boxing.

“I only did Thai boxing because the gym was closer.

“I went into the junior ABAs and won them after seven fights; I’m not sure anyone has ever done that at the first attempt.

“I went on to box for England and then turned professional and never looked back since.

“I still trained at the Thai boxing club on Cobden Street with Darren Phillips who is still involved there now.

“He has been a massive help to my career and used to come to Collyhurst when I was at Brian Hughes’s.

“I had to go to an amateur club to get my boxing licence and that’s where Mick came in. He was a good trainer and is still producing youngsters now.

“There are a lot of people who have helped me along the way.”

While Quigg is thankful to all those who have played a part in turning him into a world champion, he knows there are few bigger fans than his nan Sheila Rowles who offered free portions of chips from her Brandlesholme Road chippy to anyone who bought a ticket for Scott’s last fight in London.

Using his own money, Quigg laid on coaches from the chippy to that last bout at the O2 Arena and believes it is important to give something back to fans.

He said: “Anyone who bought a ticket for the last fight from my nan’s chippy got a free portion of chips.

“I put two coaches on from there out of my own money so the fans could go down because it is a dear do.

“You have to give something back to people who support you because without that it makes things harder.

“I couldn’t wish for better support and better people around me.

“I think I have the best fans and you will see that again this weekend.”

Those chippy regulars will be hoping it’s Quigg and not his nan doing the battering on Saturday.