The show goes on. Of course it does. Asking Jake Limond whether he had any doubts about continuing to box following his dad’s death was as redundant a question as querying whether he planned on keeping on breathing. What alternative course of action could there be when boxing is in the blood?

Willie Limond’s premature passing in April at the age of just 45 has left a gaping hole in his family’s lives given the multitude of different roles he filled: dad, trainer, counsellor, motivator, role model. A mate, too, despite the age gap. “We spoke about everything,” reveals Jake. “And I mean everything. Even things that you probably shouldn’t be talking about with your dad.”

That sense of loss continues to ache for Jake, 20, and younger siblings Drew, 18, and nine-year-old Macy. And, yet, boxing has given the boys a purpose, a way of channelling that grief into something more positive. When their dad was taken to hospital after suffering a seizure, where he stayed for 10 days, fighting valiantly for his life, Jake and Drew would take breaks to go and train in a bid to clear their heads.

Beyond a brief time off in the days after Willie passed away, that has continued to provide the best coping mechanism. Both boys will return to the ring this evening on the Saltire Boxing card at the Normandy Hotel, where Drew will make his professional debut. It will be a poignant occasion but Jake believes it is the only natural course of action.

“The last few months have obviously been tough but me and my brother have been there for each other,” he says. “It’s been a weird time – it’s hard to put it properly into words – but we’ve just been getting on with it and concentrating on our training. Having a fight coming up has given us something else to focus on and that’s been a big help, too.

“My dad was in hospital for 10 days. Me and Drew would be in there all the time at the start waiting for news but then we realised it was pointless just sitting about all day, not really doing anything. We knew the script and what was going to happen so we decided it was better to get out and do some training to take our minds off it. Nothing too mad, just a few rounds on the bags or the pads, and then back to the hospital.

“Even when my dad passed, we didn’t really take too much of a break as you felt you were just sitting about eating rubbish and putting on weight. But I think we handled the whole thing pretty well. We had other family members around us to support us but I felt like I was responsible for a lot of things. My dad had passed so I had to step up and be there for other people.

“Me and Drew are both strong-minded. We’re both alright. We’ve not needed looking after. We’re both quite private in the sense that, a lot of people would be greeting to their maws and saying how terrible it all is, but we’re not really like that. We’re just getting on with it and dealing with it in our own way.

“Folk have been saying, ‘oh, your dad would be so proud, you need to keep going’. But I just tell Drew he’s got training so he needs to get f****** on with it. We’re both strong-willed in that sense I believe.”

Given Willie was such a boisterous and gregarious character, his departure has understandably left a void in the lives of those who were around him the most. “Yeah, we’re definitely missing him,” confirms Jake. “Some days you’re alright and on other days you’re not. A wee thing will pop into your head and you automatically go to tell him. And then it hits you that you can’t now. It’s just moments like that.

“He would always kick around with my pals so if we were going out for food he would come along too. He was 45 but he acted like he was the same age as the rest of us. He was always up for a laugh so you’re always going to miss someone like that.”

Having been trained by his dad since he started boxing, Jake has now taken up with Michael McGurk at the Mania gym in Bellshill. The notion of quitting after Willie died was a non-starter.

“I was always going to keep going with my boxing,” he adds. “I’ve been doing this since I was a wee boy. I did well at school and left with some good qualifications but I turned pro at 17 so didn’t go to university or anything like that. So, I’ve no choice really. I need to keep going. It’ll feel different I’m sure for this first fight back. But I’ll just do my best as always. My dad wouldn’t want us to panic and not do what we’re meant to be doing in there because we’ve got too caught up with other distractions.”

It is perhaps trite to suggest Jake and Drew’s perseverance will serve as the most fitting tribute to their dad’s legacy as a former British, Commonwealth and European champion. Jake, though, doesn’t see it that way, determined to make a name for himself in his own right, with a title fight already pencilled in for the undefeated super-lightweight later this year.

“I’ve always wanted to do better than my dad – not in a bad way,” he adds. “He obviously did a lot in boxing. But he always wanted us to do better than him and always gave us that encouragement. I’ve never set out to do less than anyone else. I’ve always wanted more and to go as far as I can. And that mindset hasn’t changed.”