Darren Sutherland

Darren Sutherland
Statistics
Real name Darren John Sutherland
Nickname(s) The Dazzler
Rated at Super-middleweight
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Nationality Irish
Born (1982-04-18)18 April 1982
Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Died 14 September 2009(2009-09-14) (aged 27)
Bromley, London, England
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 4
Wins 4
Wins by KO 4
Losses 0
Draws 0
No contests 0
Medal record
Representing Republic of Ireland Ireland
Men’s Boxing
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Middleweight
EU Amateur Championships
2007 Dublin Middleweight
2008 Cetniewo Middleweight

Darren John Sutherland (18 April 1982 – 14 September 2009) was an Irish professional boxer from Mulhuddart, Dublin. His amateur career was crowned by a 2008 Olympic bronze medal.

Amateur career

Sutherland represented the St Saviour's ABC in Dublin and won the Leinster senior title in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He faced Edward Healy in the 2006 and 2007 Final and Darren O'Neill in 2008 winning all three.[1] Sutherland's international career featured a great rivalry with Britain's James Degale, who later paid tribute to Sutherland upon winning his first professional world title in 2015.[2]

2007 | EU Amateur Championships

At the 2007 EU Amateur Championships in Dublin, Sutherland won gold at middleweight.[3] Results were:

2008 | EU Amateur Championships

At the 2008 EU Amateur Championships in Cetniewo, Sutherland won gold at middleweight.[4] Results were:

2008 | Olympic Games

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Sutherland won bronze at middleweight.[5] Results were:

Professional career

Following the exposure gained at the Olympics, Sutherland was offered a number of contracts as a professional boxer. In October 2008 he signed terms with London-based promoter Frank Maloney.[6] On 18 December 2008, Sutherland made a winning start to his professional career with a first round knockout of Georgi Iliev in Dublin. After the bout, Sutherland's promoter Frank Maloney said "I think we've found a real superstar here tonight and this is just the start of a long journey". His next fight, against Siarhei Navarka on 6 March at Robin Park Arena in Wigan, ended with Sutherland winning by a third round stoppage.[7]

Sutherland won his third fight at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke-on-Trent on 29 May against Vepkhia Tchilaia. Sutherland won his next fight against Gennadiy Rasalev in York Hall, London.

Professional boxing record

4 Wins (4 Knockouts), 0 Losses, 0 Draws
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 4-0 Ukraine Gennadiy Rasalev TKO 4 (6) 2009-06-30 United KingdomYork Hall, London, England
Win 3-0 Georgia (country) Vepkhia Tchilaia TKO 4 (6) 2009-05-29 United Kingdom Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Win 2-0 Belarus Siarhei Navarka TKO 3 (6) 2009-03-06 United Kingdom Robin Park Arena, Wigan, England
Win 1-0 Bulgaria Georgi Iliev TKO 1 (6) 2008-12-18 Republic of Ireland DCU Sports Complex, Dublin, Ireland Professional debut.

Death

On 14 September 2009, Sutherland was found dead with his wrists bound[8] at his apartment in Bromley by his promoter, Frank Maloney.[9][10] It was alleged he died by hanging himself. He suffered from depression. Olympic gold medalist, James Degale commented on the death stating: "It is very, very sad news - I just can't believe it, It is a tragedy. First and foremost, my heart goes out to his family. I just could not believe it; my heart went to the floor when I heard. He was a big part of my Olympic medal journey and it is just terrible. I just do not know what to say except that he was a brilliant fighter, in fact an excellent fighter, and he was a gentleman outside the ring as well. He had an Olympic bronze medal and his whole life to look forward to. He had a great future, and my heart goes out to everyone who knew him."[1] At the time, he was dating Irish model Hazel O'Sullivan.[11]

He was exhumed in September 2010 for a further private postmortem at the request of his family.[12] An open verdict was delivered at the inquest in March 2012.[13]

Following Sutherland's death, James DeGale kept the initials 'DS' on his shorts in professional bouts. When he won the IBF super middleweight world title against Andre Dirrell in 2015, he spoke post-fight of his relationship with Sutherland and dedicated the victory to him. "It's for Darren Sutherland as well, of course. My late rival" he said. "When he took his life back in 2009 it was horrendous. From when he passed, I've always had 'DS' on my shorts. And this world title is for him as well. A great guy. A great fighter. Unbelievable fighter. We've had some great, great scraps. It's for him."[2]

References

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