Arjon Basi, a popular London ticket-seller turned professional boxer, carries his past with him into the ring. Before every fight he leaves an empty chair in memory of his father, who died of a sudden heart attack when Basi was a teenager.
“My dad was my hero. Definitely was a big influence on me,” Basi told Sky Sports. “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 described looking at the seat and nodding as if acknowledging his dad’s presence before he begins.
Basi, 25, had a promising amateur career but struggled mentally after his father’s death. He also faced serious physical setbacks: damaged tendons in his right wrist and torn ligaments in his left that prompted scans and grim warnings. “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’,” he recalled. “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.”
Against the odds he recovered. Doctors later called it a “miracle” the way his injuries healed, and he returned to the sport. Soon after, he suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. “I was getting really dizzy randomly and I was really out of breath,” he said. “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.” That scare made him question whether he should stop, but he chose to persevere.
Now two fights into his professional career, Basi will box in a preliminary bout on Sunday at Olympia in Kensington, before the televised section of the card. He still enjoys the journey and the raucous support he draws as a ticket-seller turned fighter. “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…”
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