Blind boxer inspires Ugandans

[jason]

Blind boxer inspires Ugandans - International Herald Tribune

Talk about shadow boxing.

In the center of a flyblown gym, where the musk runs strong and the weak are not welcome, Bashir Ramathan bobs and weaves, his tattered gloves punching furiously, trying to find their target. Blows rain down on his arms, his chest, his sweat-beaded face. But his fists keep flying - all completely in the dark.

Ramathan is entirely blind and he is a middleweight boxer. It sounds improbable - and dangerous - but it’s his way of dealing with his disability.

This husky, bearded bricklayer from the Ugandan slums is fearless, calling out all the other boxers in the gym to go toe-to-toe with him - as long as they wear a blindfold.

On a recent day, another fighter - and a quite chiseled one at that - tied a sweaty T-shirt over his face, and he and Ramathan duked it out for several rounds, trading some serious head-snappers. There were some wild whiffs, too, and at one point, the two boxers were back to back, punching like crazy in the absolute wrong direction.

Ramathan said he tried to home in on smells and sounds, like the squeak of the shoes and the huff of his opponent’s breathing.

“Bashir fights with his brain,” explained his coach, Hassan Khalil. “He has the talent,” said Monica Abey, a young woman contender who has trained with him….

His plan now is to start his own worldwide blind boxing league. “If blind people can wrestle or throw a javelin,” he said, referring to well-established blind sports, “why can’t they box?” “There are a lot of blind people in America, right?” he asked. “Think any of them will want to fight me?”