Beyond The Ropes: Rubi Smallwood

Beyond The Ropes: Rubi Smallwood

Just a few short months ago, Rubi Smallwood was flying in her sport of choice. A thriving boxing career that had already accumulated three national titles. But in September, the 18-year-old suddenly had a bigger fight on her hands.

Smallwood was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which left her temporarily paralysed. “I have got five weeks left in rehab, and hopefully, I will be fine after that,” Smallwood told FightPost over Zoom.

“It started at the end of September, and I got admitted to the hospital on October 6th,” Smallwood added. It came on pretty quick; within a week, I couldn’t walk.

“I was ill, just a normal illness. But then my immune system attacked my peripheral nervous system, which left me paralysed. But now it’s just a case of building my strength back up. I am in a unit, and we do two sessions a day. At first, I was walking on parallel bars. When I was in the hospital, it was stretches and things like that. But when I was in the rehab centre, I was doing the stand and the walking, now I am on a frame. This coming week, I am changing to using just the one crutch. After that, it will be trying to walk without any assistance.”

Smallwood is ahead of schedule. Ever the fighter, the Macclesfield native is battling as hard as she would in any fight. Smallwood is more than hopeful of a full recovery. “The long-term effects are just like nerve pain, pins and needles and stuff like that. When the condition first started, my symptoms were pins and needles. As time goes by, I will get shooting pains, but a lot of it will be fatigue as well. But the way the recovery is going, it normally takes up to twelve months. I am recovering at such a quick rate, I don’t think I will suffer as much as a lot of people do.”

The 18-year-old is already thinking of a return to her normal routine and the next steps to a ring comeback. “I have spoken to the physio team, and they say hopefully by April time, I will be back in the gym,” Smallwood says. “Obviously, I will start off slow, and it will gradually get easier.”

“It’s frustrating, and it is a big setback,” Smallwood went on to say. A fighter who just lives to fight. “I can’t really live without boxing,”

Before the illness stopped everything, Smallwood was contemplating testing the waters in the professional ranks. But those plans have now been temporarily put on hold. “I was thinking about turning pro next year, but I will give it a few years and see how the recovery goes. By the time I am 21, I should be ready to turn over.”

The initial entry into boxing was by way of a family affair. “When I was 7, all my brothers and sisters were down in the gym, and I was a curious kid, and I wanted to go,” Smallwood relayed to me. “They said I was too young, but I said no. I just never stopped.”

“I like getting hit and the thrill of it,” Smallwood added when I asked what the attraction of boxing was to her. “If I didn’t have boxing, I would probably lose my mind. It gives you determination and something to work towards.”

Smallwood is now twenty-one fights, three national, and six regional titles into her boxing life. Smallwood takes inspiration from the likes of Katie Taylor and Karriss Artingstall, a fighter she has shared rounds with in her Macclesfield gym.

The boxing career might currently be on hold, but the lofty ambitions are very much still in play. “All the belts, and a lot of money,” Smallwood says when I asked what she wants out of her career. “I hope I will make some money for getting hit in the face.”   

Rubi Smallwood could be forgiven for feeling sorry for herself right now. But she is remaining positive that her current health issues are only temporary, and her beyond-promising boxing career can once again flourish in the coming months. Smallwood is impressive in many ways.