Boxing Apr 24, 2026

Arjon Basi has faced death and overcome grief to pursue his boxing dream with his next fight on Sunday's Olympia card

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Arjon Basi has faced death and overcome grief to pursue his boxing dream with his next fight on Sunday's Olympia card

Arjon Basi, still only new to professional boxing, is a ticket-seller who brings loud, raucous support. But just before his fight on Sunday night he will look out to an empty seat.

He always leaves a chair unoccupied in memory of his father.

When Basi was just a teenager, his father suffered a sudden heart attack and died.

"My dad was my hero. Definitely was a big influence on me," Basi told Your Site. "It was really pushing to have someone that you knew was so supportive of you. A good father is the only person in the world that wants you to do better than them.

"Even now, I'm getting goosebumps when I'm talking about him. I always leave an empty chair when I fight, for my father."

He explained: "Whenever I used to fight I'd get in the ring and the first thing I'd do I'd look out to my dad. I'd always look out and he'd give me the nod and I'd be like, 'now it's time to go'. Now I sort of look out and I look at the seat and I nod at the seat because … he's there, I know he's there."

Basi, 25, was enjoying a promising amateur career when his father died. He almost lost his way with the sport.

"That following year, two years was a really, really strong mental battle, really found it tough," he said. "My dad was a huge part of my boxing journey.

"I remember some of the conversations we had back in the day and it lights that fire again.

"It's a big factor for me."

He still had hurdles to overcome. He damaged tendons in his right wrist, and then torn ligaments in his left wrist threatened to end his boxing career.

"They did MRIs, they did every scan and said, 'look you're going to struggle to pick your kids up when you're older, you should never box again'. Really harsh things, they're not things I want to be hearing," Basi recalled.

"I felt like my whole world came crashing down on me. Boxing's not just a hobby, it's my life.

"When they told me you won't be able to do it ever again I'd be lying if I said I didn't shed a tear or two. It was a very tough time."

Somehow Basi did make it back. "I really persevered," he said. "Got told randomly, 'it's a miracle, it shouldn't have healed the way it has, you're good to go back'."

But afterwards he could have lost more than his boxing career. "I was getting really dizzy randomly and I was really out of breath," he explained. "I had a blood clot in my lung.

"They told me look you've got a pulmonary embolism. It's genuinely life threatening.

"If I had tried to leave it for another couple of days, the conversation could have been very, very different, if any conversation at all. It was a very risky situation I was in."

That was the moment he almost gave in. "I sort of looked up at the sky and thought is it a sign for me to stop. Is something pulling me away?"

He did not however despair. He pressed on. "I just kept my mind strong and had to push through."

Basi recovered his health and is now two fights into his professional career. He will box in a preliminary bout at Olympia in Kensington before the televised portion of the card.

He is continuing to enjoy the journey, especially with that tremendous support behind him.

"Boxing ran in my family blood, everyone in my family boxed," he said. "Honestly it [his support] is manic. If you heard York Hall on my debut, I swear it erupted. It was crazy.

"I've walked out, I've just heard this roar, then next thing I know I was smiling, laughing…"

Watch Dubois vs Harper and Scotney vs Flores live on Your Site from 7pm on Sunday.

Tags:

boxing news

Share this article

Related Posts

Ben Whittaker promises his showboating can lead to 'complete domination’ | 'That to me is the beauty of boxing'

Ben Whittaker promises his showboating can lead to 'complete domination’ | 'That to me is the beauty of boxing'

Expect Ben Whittaker's viral showboating to remain a key facet of his boxing, even though he is on a run of three double-quick knockout victories.Whit...

Mikaela Mayer: People feel they have the right to talk trash to you. It can feel like the world hates you

Mikaela Mayer: People feel they have the right to talk trash to you. It can feel like the world hates you

“Boxing is unique in a way that there’s a lot of trash talk and then we go in the ring and we punch each other in the face.”Mikaela Mayer might curren...

Richard Riakporhe: 'You can see in my aura I’m very serious about doing real damage in the heavyweight division'

Richard Riakporhe: 'You can see in my aura I’m very serious about doing real damage in the heavyweight division'

Richard Riakporhe will push for a world title shot at heavyweight.The Londoner, a former cruiserweight world title challenger, became the British heav...

Caroline Dubois: Alycia Baumgardner 'most definitely' scared | 'Bo Mi Re Shin will expose what I know and what I see'

Caroline Dubois: Alycia Baumgardner 'most definitely' scared | 'Bo Mi Re Shin will expose what I know and what I see'

Caroline Dubois claimed Alycia Baumgardner is “most definitely” scared of fighting her later this year.Dubois has launched a war of words with the Ame...

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: Oleksandr Usyk training new 'friend' AJ to beat 'Greedy Belly' | 'He will do it!'

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: Oleksandr Usyk training new 'friend' AJ to beat 'Greedy Belly' | 'He will do it!'

Oleksandr Usyk has vowed to help Anthony Joshua defeat Tyson Fury.Joshua, a former world titlist who himself lost to the Ukrainian twice, has joined U...

Denzel Bentley calls for WBO to elevate him to full world champion with Zhanibek Alimkhanuly currently suspended

Denzel Bentley calls for WBO to elevate him to full world champion with Zhanibek Alimkhanuly currently suspended

Denzel Bentley has called on the WBO to elevate him to full world championship status.The Londoner won the WBO Interim middleweight title with a stopp...