Zürcher Nachrichten - 'Fighting spirit': Disabled French boxer yearns for glory

EUR -
AED 3.82096
AFN 72.95795
ALL 98.661714
AMD 411.511459
ANG 1.877014
AOA 948.73034
ARS 1067.056125
AUD 1.666545
AWG 1.872494
AZN 1.771352
BAM 1.958698
BBD 2.102991
BDT 124.462962
BGN 1.955092
BHD 0.392322
BIF 3079.326649
BMD 1.040274
BND 1.413464
BOB 7.212221
BRL 6.445753
BSD 1.041506
BTN 88.703395
BWP 14.405692
BYN 3.408043
BYR 20389.374639
BZD 2.094679
CAD 1.495654
CDF 2985.587061
CHF 0.934801
CLF 0.037342
CLP 1030.37048
CNY 7.591877
CNH 7.603151
COP 4589.689842
CRC 528.882548
CUC 1.040274
CUP 27.567267
CVE 110.42733
CZK 25.140322
DJF 184.877592
DKK 7.460384
DOP 63.191373
DZD 140.258299
EGP 53.137492
ERN 15.604113
ETB 132.577882
FJD 2.412552
FKP 0.823878
GBP 0.830144
GEL 2.923419
GGP 0.823878
GHS 15.309696
GIP 0.823878
GMD 74.899648
GNF 8998.227508
GTQ 8.024797
GYD 217.888779
HKD 8.082811
HNL 26.456145
HRK 7.461789
HTG 136.191512
HUF 412.656077
IDR 16890.51634
ILS 3.816574
IMP 0.823878
INR 88.526555
IQD 1364.405694
IRR 43782.54872
ISK 145.107732
JEP 0.823878
JMD 162.589008
JOD 0.737659
JPY 163.530588
KES 134.622118
KGS 90.504093
KHR 4176.999707
KMF 484.897784
KPW 936.246213
KRW 1511.221987
KWD 0.320611
KYD 0.867947
KZT 543.333931
LAK 22790.297087
LBP 93264.16857
LKR 308.396311
LRD 189.555004
LSL 19.1939
LTL 3.071659
LVL 0.629252
LYD 5.114568
MAD 10.479005
MDL 19.17354
MGA 4910.170813
MKD 61.498942
MMK 3378.770076
MNT 3534.851652
MOP 8.334912
MRU 41.473967
MUR 48.736726
MVR 16.021999
MWK 1806.037537
MXN 21.00156
MYR 4.671866
MZN 66.477402
NAD 19.1939
NGN 1611.395012
NIO 38.326709
NOK 11.821411
NPR 141.920851
NZD 1.842971
OMR 0.400511
PAB 1.041476
PEN 3.884948
PGK 4.225252
PHP 60.918978
PKR 290.199386
PLN 4.266137
PYG 8131.030881
QAR 3.797082
RON 4.975736
RSD 116.998606
RUB 105.300239
RWF 1442.444148
SAR 3.907617
SBD 8.721196
SCR 14.50713
SDG 625.721598
SEK 11.494354
SGD 1.412021
SHP 0.823878
SLE 23.72519
SLL 21814.033329
SOS 595.275062
SRD 36.537536
STD 21531.575972
SVC 9.113485
SYP 2613.72043
SZL 19.188392
THB 35.694956
TJS 11.378124
TMT 3.651362
TND 3.317108
TOP 2.436424
TRY 36.681843
TTD 7.074468
TWD 33.999074
TZS 2504.46173
UAH 43.776352
UGX 3827.62666
USD 1.040274
UYU 46.598949
UZS 13437.753668
VES 53.649239
VND 26474.978804
VUV 123.503438
WST 2.874057
XAF 656.900551
XAG 0.035013
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.811393
XDR 0.798474
XOF 656.922685
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.458683
ZAR 19.29381
ZMK 9363.723842
ZMW 28.822846
ZWL 334.967873
  • NGG

    0.5200

    59.02

    +0.88%

  • RELX

    0.1200

    45.59

    +0.26%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    60.5

    0%

  • SCS

    -0.0900

    11.65

    -0.77%

  • BCC

    -0.5100

    122.24

    -0.42%

  • CMSC

    0.0420

    23.902

    +0.18%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0200

    7.25

    -0.28%

  • GSK

    0.4600

    34.06

    +1.35%

  • RIO

    0.5900

    59.23

    +1%

  • AZN

    1.2800

    66.63

    +1.92%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    36.22

    -0.06%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    8.37

    -0.24%

  • BCE

    -0.3200

    22.84

    -1.4%

  • BP

    0.1500

    28.75

    +0.52%

  • JRI

    0.0400

    12.1

    +0.33%

  • CMSD

    -0.0100

    23.55

    -0.04%

'Fighting spirit': Disabled French boxer yearns for glory
'Fighting spirit': Disabled French boxer yearns for glory / Photo: ANGELA WEISS - AFP

'Fighting spirit': Disabled French boxer yearns for glory

Boxer Pierre-Mickael Hugues trains in New York like any other able-bodied athlete -- but has prosthetic legs from below the knee.

Text size:

"Your hands, Pierre! Hit him in the body!" shouts his trainer.

The accomplished amateur was invited to spend two weeks in the United States by former French heavyweight Christophe Mendy.

"I've always seen myself as an able-bodied athlete, with the same passion -- sometimes greater -- to achieve the same result," Hugues, 31, said in a soft, determined voice, against the low din of a Harlem boxing gym.

With his super welterweight physique, he is the first disabled boxer in the world to be registered in the able-bodied elite amateur category.

Hugues, who was born without lower legs, crossed the Atlantic at the end of November for his first tour to make a name for himself in the United States.

Because of a lack of funding in his native France, he hopes to find financing for his passion while in the United States and turn professional within two years.

The nurse and Red Cross worker even dreams of going to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 knowing that by then he would be 35 years old -- what could be his last chance to compete against able-bodied fighters at that level.

His ambition recalls Oscar Pistorius, the South African runner who became the first amputee to compete in an Olympic track event on his prosthetic legs -- winning him the moniker "blade runner."

When he first hit the rings in Harlem and the Bronx, multi-cultural New York neighborhoods with rich boxing pedigrees, Hugues admits he was shocked by the high standards -- but won the respect of his opponents for his "fighting spirit."

"I explain to these young people that we've all been through difficult phases in our history, and that we've all faced them down in one way or another," said Hugues.

"I train just as hard as any able-bodied athlete."

- 'The one for me' -

Of his 14 international bouts, the French military boxing team member has notched up eight wins.

"I had a period in my life when I was in a wheelchair, I had pins in my leg and I was watching boxing on TV and I said to myself 'damn, that's the one for me'... I could see myself in it," said Hugues.

"Of course if you ask any boxer they'll tell you it's going to be hard to fight with (prosthetics), it's going to be complicated... obviously, we start off with a disadvantage. But like any boxer, even at the highest level, there's always a lot of work to be done."

Hugues's American dream would not happened without former French heavyweight Mendy, 52, who has resettled in New York as a trainer and coach after a professional career in France and the United States.

Mendy finished fifth at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and won a bronze at the World Championships the same year.

"Everyone is impressed when they see him," Mendy said of his charge.

"At first people were a bit wary, but as soon as he starts boxing, people see he really knows how to box like a pro.

"You have to have courage and willpower. If you don't have those weapons, you won't get far. I think he's got them... He proves it to us in the ring -- he's determined, he knows what he wants."

But the route to the Olympics is littered with obstacles.

Hugues would have to join the successful French team, be top in his category and qualify for top-level tournaments against younger, more successful boxers.

W.Odermatt--NZN