AN ACADEMIC is preparing to fight in the boxing ring as part of his research into gender studies.

Dr Christopher Matthews, a sports studies lecturer at University of Brighton, is preparing for an amateur boxing match to help him write his book about male power using boxing as a case study.

The 35-year-old, who has been conducting research in boxing gyms for eight years, hopes his amateur fight will give him a first hand perspective for the book he is writing.

Dr Matthews' research focuses on gender and violence using sociology and gender studies, and is widely published in journals.

He said: “I started boxing more than anything to get back into shape and I was doing it for pleasure.

“I got to the point, where I thought I should start collecting data and have my first fight.

“The process leading up to a fight - having to lose weight and the grind it puts on your body - I’ll be able to write about it first hand rather than understand it through other people’s eyes.”

In his field notes for his book Dr Matthews wrote about the time he was concussed without knowing: "I have a headache and I feel slow. Earlier I couldn't get words right. Everything just feels a bit mixed up after a hard session of sparring.

"I like the feeling sometimes, it's kind of nice because you phase out most stuff and can can just sit there in a bit of a daze without thinking about anything."

Course leader on the Sports Studies course, said his fellow academics were rather bemused. “Colleagues have been a bit confused by it, as I spend time teaching on concussion in sport.

“But my partner Jennie is supportive and she knows I’m not stupid.”

The researcher is also fighting for Love Fighting Hate Violence, a campaign he set with a colleague, which aims to raise awareness of the important moral difference between sport-based combat and violence.

The lecturer has been running in the mornings and sparring for his bout in the boxing ring. Cheered on by friends, Christopher will fight his opponent in the middleweight division at the Eastbourne Boxing Show at Skateworld in Eastbourne on a October 15.