Waking up on Sunday morning to the news that Lee Reeves had been taken to hospital after his fight with Gary Cully was an extension of a nightmare that you never fully recover from.
Reeves had lost a punishing fight in the 10th round at the 3Arena in Dublin, and there were worrying scenes immediately afterwards.
It is around these times that Chinese whispers start to form, but it is also during these times that you can’t help but recall where you were when news of a serious injury trickled through to you.
Fortunately, and so fortunately given the many thousands of fights I have covered, I have never been present for a ring fatality. But I remember every near miss, every whisper, every concern, as though it were yesterday.
For instance, in 2008 at Bethnal Green, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Gilbert Eastman’s collapsed in the changing room.”
Eastman had been stopped in the eighth round by the very good Sam Webb, and I won’t forget the feeling that coursed through my body when I was told the chilling news.
Eastman recovered. I think he became a bus driver, but he never boxed again.
A year later, I knew Z Gorres had been badly injured in his win over Luis Melendez at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. Just because Gorres won on the cards didn’t mean he didn’t merit a full examination. I saw him looking groggy. I saw him missing steps. I saw him finding it difficult to have his arm raised by the referee, and I saw him collapse as he tried to step between the ropes.
He spent months in a Las Vegas hospital and was eventually flown home to the Philippines.
Then there are the nights when you think something has happened, only to be relieved it has not. Case in point was Manny Pacquiao getting drilled by Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth fight in Vegas.
I was only a few feet away and I saw Pacquiao motionless. Still. Perfectly still. And I thought the absolute worst.
It was a miracle to me that nothing tragic had happened.
On Sunday night, Queensberry Promotions, who hosted the show in Dublin and staged Cully-Reeves, issued a statement saying that Reeves was “critical but stable.”
The thoughts and prayers of the sport are with Reeves. They are also with Cully, who wrote on Instagram: “... right now my thoughts are with Lee and his family, just praying for his full recovery.”
We all are.
It also serves as a reminder that, beyond the rumours, gossip and politics that dominate boxing conversations, there are moments when none of that matters.
(Photo by Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)
A GoFundMe has been set up for Lee and you can contribute here https://gofund.me/bb671f645
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