Darren Sutherland ‘82 - ‘09

Boxing may be a tough sport, but sometimes the hardest and most brutal blows are struck from outside the ring.

The life of a boxer is a lonely path, especially in the professional circuit. The discipline is strict and there are no teammates to comfort those everyday hits thrown by life.

Months of rigorous training exerts huge physical and mental demands, which finishes with one fight in the ring. After minutes of enduring aggression, a boxer leaves the ring alone, ready to embark on another punishing cycle.

The training, the celebrated victories and the crushing defeats are all left for one person’s shoulders to carry. All the acclaim a boxer receives in the ring can be easily eradicated by the loneliness experienced in the real world.

Darren Sutherland had the talent to become a world champion in the professional game, or to become an Olympic champion in the amateur ranks - that is without question.

Darren’s dedication and ability secured him three national senior champion titles, a European gold medal in 2007, an Olympic bronze medal in 2008 and knock-out victories in all of his first four professional bouts.

After his success at last year’s Beijing Olympics, he decided to follow the professional path and made the tough decision to leave his friends at the Irish amateur setup, after ten years of involvement.

His first four professional fights all ended in knockout, suggesting his powerful style was more suited to the paid ranks, rather then the strategic point scoring style of the amateur ring.

Darren made all the right moves. He signed with the boxing promoter, Frank Maloney, whom he believed would take him to the top. He moved to London and stayed away from anything that could taint his boxing ambitions.

However, something went catastrophically wrong during Darren’s time in London, which led to the events on Monday, 14 September. At 3pm that day, Darren was found dead in his London apartment.

Aged only 27, the man that many had predicted would go all the way to a world title was found alone. Ireland lost one of its brightest sporting hopes, but more poignantly it was the loss of a son, brother, friend and gentleman.

Two days after Darren’s funeral last Tuesday, spokesman for the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, Bernard O’Neill, said he was so upset he still couldn’t find the words to describe his emotions.

He said that Darren’s death has had a huge effect on everybody connected to the Irish setup, and that those who knew him will always remember him as the “life and soul” of the squad.

“I’ve been lost for words all week. I’ve known Darren for the last ten years and he was such a fantastic representative for his country, but above all he was a gentleman,” said O’Neill.

“All the lads in the squad are devastated. They were all very close and travelled the world together, enjoying some unforgettable moments as a team of competitors, and as friends.

Those tributes are echoed by Olympic gold medal winner Michael Carruth, who said Darren had the potential, and the charisma, to become a “real international star of boxing”.

Carruth also described Darren as “gentleman outside the ring,” and feels the void he has left will make recovery extremely difficult for the boxing fraternity in Ireland.

Carruth followed a similar path, taken by Darren, into the professional boxing circuit. After winning gold in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Carruth accepted a contract to move to London and enter the paid ranks.

“The transition from an amateur to a professional boxer is lonely. You only spend a few hours in the gym each day so what do you do for the rest of your day if your by yourself?” said Carruth.

“If you keep to the same routine it gets lonely very quickly. I was lucky because my wife came with me to London, so I kept a life outside of boxing and had someone to talk to if it wasn’t going my way.”

Carruth is critical of the existing structures aimed at easing the transition from an amateur to a professional, and feels that it’s something the Irish Sports Council should address “sooner rather then later”.

“Something has to be done to make things easier and smooth the transition from being an amateur to, all of a sudden, finding yourself in a totally different environment as a professional boxer,” he said.

“Boxing has made huge strides in Ireland over the last few years, but we’ve had a few setbacks lately. What has happened to Darren is obviously the most tragic and heartbreaking, but there have been other smaller events too.

“Look at what happened to our other Olympic medal winners. Kenny Egan had a blip when he went awol in New York, and just a few weeks ago Paddy Barnes was sent home from the world amateur championships for a breach of discipline.

“We need to address how to help these lads and make sure they’re all looked after when they’ve achieved success on behalf of the country,” he said. “Boxing is very demanding mentally and it can take it’s toll.”