A Manchester mother-of-two is competing in a white collar boxing tournament this weekend to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Jilly Berens, 37, is a north-west community fundraiser for Chai Cancer Care. Her father, Alex Silvera, died in 2003, aged 53, within weeks of a stomach cancer diagnosis.

“He was a massive character,” she told the JC. “He had an amazing heart, a great sense of humour and will never be forgotten by the people that were close to him.”

She said she was feeling confident, if “a little bit nervous”, ahead of her bout against Merili Jogi, who is raising money for breast cancer research, at Bowlers Exhibition Centre on Saturday night.

“The idea is to get in the ring, have that moment, raise money for cancer research — just have a good night.”

Ms Berens has suffered bruises and back pain during training. On the plus side, “you build your fitness up as long as you’re committed” —and it had helped relieve stress during the pandemic. People do yoga. Some people like to meditate. This was my way of dealing with it.”

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