Deion Jumah: Boxing took a lot of time.boxing news

Eventually you have to stop fighting. Some can leave boxing on their own terms. Sometimes the end comes, and for Deion Jumah it was the latter.

He awoke but could not see.

He was weeks away from the fight his career required. Jumah was scheduled to challenge his London rival Mikael Lawal for the British cruiserweight title on the box. sky sports Billed in November.

Training, especially sparring, was going well. He was unaware of his rand, especially big punches, or anything else that might have caused the injury. However, after training, he noticed that his left eye could not see properly.

I wanted to believe he was just tired. Juma rested in the afternoon and then went for a run to keep her hopes up. Later that night he awoke and he could see nothing. Then he immediately went to the hospital. Eight hours later, he was in theater for surgery for a detached retina. And that’s how boxing was done.

Juma had previously followed this path. He had previously had his retina detached, had surgery, and underwent a lengthy campaign to restore his boxing license and return to the sport.

“We jumped a lot and only got our license. sky sports.

“It took a long time. I wouldn’t say we were lucky even when this process was going on, but it was just an effort. It was pure effort and determination on our part.

“I never wanted to do it again. It’s over.”

“The first time it happened, I was less afraid of going blind than of missing an opportunity,” he explained. At one point, I thought I didn’t want to go blind.”

It was all the more frustrating because Juma had just come to the top of a landmark battle. Winning the British title would suddenly make the upcoming competition even more exciting. For example, rematches with Isaac Chamberlain, potentially Chris Bilam-Smith, and Richard Liacpoule, and even a world title challenge with Lawrence O’Colley.

“I thought you knew boxing had taken too much from me.

He has dealt with injuries and bad luck for years. Before eye problems, early in his professional career, Jumah also had to deal with pericarditis, which causes a swelling of the heart.

“It took me a long time to get over it. It was a big thing in my career. I think that was my first big hit,” Jumar said. “If you have a swollen heart, it’s pretty serious. This is a high intensity sport. I’ve been plagued with health scares. All brought about by training, overtraining or fighting.” It seems that.

“I think my heart problems came from my mentality during training…the amount of time I spent was insane.

“All the hard work you put in, all the sacrifices you made. You will always be your biggest self-critic.

“That’s how it’s been going for years, and it’s driven me, it’s inspired me, it’s made me a lot better. But now, I’m trying not to be so hard on myself all the time.” I think it’s time to

“I think boxing, being a fighter, definitely suited my personality of being hard on myself, being my own biggest critic, and being overly analytical about everything I do.

“He had confidence in boxing. He was a confident fighter,” he added. “But I think there was a little bit of self-loathing in other areas.

“I’m happy to let it go now. I don’t have to go running in the cold at 4 in the morning, banging the bag hard, or performing a certain way in the spar to rate myself. .”

The disappointment of his professional career should not obscure that Jumah could really have been a competitor. He asked Liakpolge, who is on track for a world title fight when he fought last year, a question. He won the British cruiserweight title.

As an amateur, Jumah won two ABA titles. In just seven games, he reached his first ABA final. It was the 2010 finals, when future Olympic gold medalist and unified world Anthony Joshua won the first, when future Olympic medalist Anthony Ogogo won another national title, Army Boxing. It was when Martin Stead won, when Martin Ward dazzled, when Luke Campbell won. , future Olympic gold medalist Thomas Stoker, another top international amateur, did not make it to the finals.

“It was one of the best ABA finals in terms of the ability of the fighters and what they’ve been doing,” he said. Sometimes I forget the fighters I used to have.

“Even before that Liakpolue fight, I was fighting pub shows in Essex. My first English title was against Waddy (Camacho) at York Hall, but a better fight with Sam Hyde was never televised. Crime It was in Wythenshaw’s Leisure Center.

“I’m sorry, but there are many fighters of lower quality than me fighting at Big Show.

“It was always a little disappointing. But I’m glad I did it. If I could go back in time, I would 100% do it again. Sometimes it’s not even about winning. It’s about lessons and everything. I think it’s about it.” and that was very important to me.

“I love boxing. All I really wanted to do was boxing.”

For Juma, even if it seemed like it was about to happen, it wasn’t.

“It’s like a British title that I’ve had my eye on for a long time, it was a real dream of mine. Every time a British title pops up, my eyes go by. I have what I want.” Is it?” Juma said.

However, he added: Even if I fought myself and won spectacularly, I still feel like it wasn’t enough… It’s like trying to reach this level of perfection that isn’t real.

“My performance is never good enough. There’s always more. Yes, I look forward to leaving it behind because it drives me crazy. It’s not healthy.”

Juma didn’t expect to have to retire at 33. He started out in martial arts and kickboxing, then amateur and eventually professional boxing. Now he has to get used to not being a fighter anymore.

“I’ve had a bit of that identity crisis. Who am I without boxing, for example?” Juma said. “My life is fast fighting, fast fighting … So who am I without Dion the fighter? I have to look at it like this:

“If I’m smart and there’s life after boxing, it’s time. And I’m healthy, I’m strong, I can see. There’s still so much more to explore… this big dream.” All the opportunities you’ve closed to want, I’m not too old to get anything else.

“I just cling to this identity. But boxing is what I did. It’s not who I am.

“I just need to understand it, and I’m trying to drill it into my brain.

“Some days are harder than others.”