Manager, Frank Maloney, went to 27-year-old Darren Sutherland’s home and found him hanging just after 3pm yesterday.  The discovery was so shocking that Maloney had to be rushed to the hospital after showing signs of shock and tests revealed that the man had had a heart attack.  He will remain in hospital for several days.

image: Zuma Press

Sutherland represented Ireland at the Olympics and was defeated by Briton James DeGale in Beijing.  DeGale had the following to say about the tragedy: “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.”

Former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan, who was born in Ireland, also shared his thought about the sad news:

“I am deeply shocked and deeply saddened by this news and my heart goes out to Darren’s family.  It is an absolute tragedy. I would describe Darren as a phenomenal talent. He represented his country with pride as an amateur and I believe he would have become a world champion in the professional ranks one day.”

Sutherland was unmarried and had no history of known problems.  His next fight was scheduled for October 16, 2009.

Post from: EveryJoe

Olympic Boxer Found Dead at 27

Middleweight Semifinals

Darren Sutherland (IRL) vs. James Degale (GBR)
Sutherland likes to scrap and that makes him a jabandgrapple favorite. He throws punches, combination even! He boxes, he engages his opponent, he doesn’t dance and he works hard. These shouldn’t be unique qualities in a boxing tourney but these Olympic Games aren’t just any competition. In the quarters he beat the 2007 silver medalist Alfonso Blanco 11-1. The score wasn’t nearly that lopsided and it was a great match to watch and Sutherland (as well as Blanco) might have a successful pro career in his future.

And Degale? Well, he beat the Athens 2004 boxer of the tourney Bakhtiyar Artayev in the semis 8-3. How the awkward, gawky Kazakh could ever have been voted most outstanding is beyond us. Evidently aesthetics weren’t involved in the decision. The southpaw Degale seemed to have confused Artayev with his frequent backtracking and lunging left-hand jabs.

Degale described his style to announcer Jim Gray as hit-move-hit-move-hit-move. Gray responded by complementing his dancing. Sutherland’s style is more hit-hit-hit-hit. For the love of boxing let’s hope the Irishman wins.

Emilio Correa (CUB) vs. Vijender Kumar (IND)
Correa is yet another skilled Cuban boxer. In the first round of Emilio’s quarterfinal matchup he circled the ring looking for spots and openings. But in the second he switched to aggressor and successfully hunted down his opponent. Correa’s dad, Emilio Sr., won the Olympic welterweight gold in 1972 and we think his son is going to repeat his father’s accomplishment, or at least make the finals.

3:00 a.m. – 3:30 a.m. EST

***
Heavyweight Semifinals

Osmay Acosta (CUB) vs. Rakhim Chakhkeiv (RUS)
Haven’t been impressed with either of these two heavyweights. Will go with Acosta not because the Cubans have been getting some friendly judging while the Russians have been getting the shaft. I like Chakhkeiv a lot better. Goes to show how horrible Olympic boxing has become.

Deontay Wilder (USA) vs. Clemente Russo (ITA)
I like Wilder and think the raw prospect might be a good pro but the stylized, experienced awkwardness of Russo is too much for the Tuscaloosa tornado.

Post from: EveryJoe

Olympic Boxing Semi-final Predictions: First Session (Part Two)