During what was an otherwise great year for the sport, light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson was, as we all know, seriously hurt and injured in his December 1st title defence against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. The 41 year old was stopped in the latter stages of the at times punishing fight in Canada and he was taken to hospital where he was placed in an induced coma. Thankfully we have heard some good news here, a week after Adonis was awakened from the coma.
As per a piece from talkSPORT, Stevenson’s wife, Simone God has tweeted how her husband has responded in a positive manner to the series of short video messages figures from the boxing world have sent to the former champ.
“Thank you for all the love from all around the world and the videos that all the boxers made for Adonis. I played it for him last night and he took my phone. He was so happy, I saw that smile again,” Simone wrote on social media.
The videos have been collected by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman and some of the sport’s biggest names have sent their well wishes to the recovering former WBC ruler; including: Roberto Duran, Manny Pacquiao, Leo Santa Cruz, Gary Russell Jr, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Muhammad Ali’s wife, Lonnie.
It is times like this that show how the boxing world rallies round when one of their own suffers from tough times. Stevenson, who of course has a long way to go before he regains his full health (and we of course hope he can and will do so), is reportedly moving his arms and legs again and is able to recognise people.
Boxing is a tough sport, arguably the toughest there is, and we must never forget the enormous risks all fighters take each and every time they step into the prize ring. Stevenson’s plight is a reminder of how any boxer can get hurt when fighting, no matter how successful or well known. Let’s hope 2019 brings further good news for Adonis and his family.
