Canberra boxer Adrian Farquhar set to return on Mundine-Parr undercard

So how is he going to cope when he makes his professional boxing return on a card headlined by two Australian legends on Saturday night?

New medication helps. So too does his desperation to end 11 months of frustration in his second bout.

Farquhar (1-0) will look to bury the pain when he meets Chris Oliver (0-2) in a welterweight bout on the Anthony Mundine versus John Wayne Parr undercard at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

The 21-year-old had days when he just couldn't get out of bed which left him fearing his career would be over before it truly began.

He was diagnosed with deformed hips and required surgery. But there was still something under the surface causing more pain.

After months of agony he found out what it was - ankylosing spondylitis, a form of inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine and large joints.

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"I've had a few hiccups along the way but things are on the improve and I'm as ready as I can be now," Farquhar said.

"I'm fit as and I'm on the right sort of drugs. I got diagnosed after my last fight with an autoimmune disease. After I had hip surgery and all of that shebang, that was all a bit of a misdiagnosis.

"I would have needed the hip surgery later on anyway, but they said I didn't need it at the time.

"I've been trying to get that under control. It's a form of inflammatory arthritis, so some days I was waking up and I couldn't walk.

"I was seeing a few different specialists at the time and they didn't quite know what was going on for me.

"I was on Voltaren pretty heavily and if I kept up with it, I was good to go. I had a few cortisone shots and they seemed to do the job and get the pain under control.

"I've maxed out on my cortisones on my left side, and I think I'm allowed one more on my right side for the year, then I'll be maxed out for another 12 months.

"At the moment I am going pretty well and I am on new medication now which seems to be doing the trick. One of the main things to do is to keep moving and keep active.

"I'm thankful I do have boxing, otherwise I would be in a bit of strife."

An autoimmune disease isn't the only problem Farquhar has had to contend with recently - there was the little matter of the entire event being shifted to another city as well.

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The show was originally scheduled to take place at Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast before being moved to Brisbane.

Promoter Steven Wijangco says the move to the much-smaller Brisbane venue was not due to ticket sales but bushfire smoke inside the open-air stadium.

But that won't deter Farquhar. "It's a fantastic opportunity. I can't believe I have got a fight on the card," Farquhar said.