Middle weight division boxer, Nick Blackwell, remains in an induced coma
following injury to the brain during his defeat by Chris Eubank Jr on
Saturday. British boxer David Haye has pledged to donate 10% of his
earnings from his next fight to Blackwell and his family.
David Haye's next fight against the unbeaten Kosovan Arnold Gjergjaj
will be televised on a freeview platform and 10% of it's ticket
proceedings will be donated to Blackwell to aid his recovery.
“I decided on this straightaway because of the reality of the situation
now for Nick. It will be a miracle if the Boxing Board of Control ever
allowed him to fight again with such a serious injury. His boxing career
is almost certainly over. He has dedicated his life to the sport. I
spoke to George Groves and Carl Froch who he worked with in sparring,
and the guy is one of the toughest sparring partners around.”
Haye added: “How is he going to earn his money now? He was an apprentice
bricklayer. He still has bills to pay. When he comes round, not being
able to do his job will make things difficult.”
“I thought the least I could do is donate 10 per cent of the ticket
sales to someone who has given so much. He gave everything in that
fight. If he was a quitter in any way, shape, or form, if he didn’t put
his life on the line in that fight, he would not be in hospital now. He
is unfortunately a victim of his own strengths. He would have gone 12
rounds. Then it would have got really dangerous. I’m so pleased the
referee and the doctor saw that something was not right.
“It was touching to see Chris Eubank Snr worrying for the other guy. I
have never seen compassion like it. Senior has been in exactly the same
position his son was in. He has seen the signs. He’d been there before.”
"Nick is only in that situation because he's so tough and is one of
those boxers who goes out there and puts it on the line," Haye said at
the London O2 Arena during a pre-fight press conference yesterday.
"It feels nice to be back again and getting in the ring so soon. I said
from the start I want to fight regularly and get some momentum back in
my career," Haye said in his press conference today.
"My comeback fight was a big success in my eyes and next up I wanted an
opponent who is bigger than me, undefeated and is fast and can move. The
top guys in the division are all taller than me and so I wanted an
opponent who is taller than me, so that I'm punching upwards and I've
got that in Gjergjaj."
Shane McGuigan, David Haye’s trainer, told Telegraph Sport on Wednesday
night:
“’Nick’s always been incredible in the gym. I’ve known him since he was
about 18. It’s terrible to see him in the situation he’s in now. He was
having wars with George Groves in the gym and really putting it on him.
He’s a phenomenal fighter.”
“What happened is a tragic accident,” added McGuigan, who admitted it
was difficult for a trainer to pull a fighter out of a contest if they
did not feel hurt.
“You’re taking away their chances. The winner of that goes on to fight
for a world title. They go on to make a fortune. The loser goes back to
being in line for a British title.”