Rubi Smallwood: “I did doubt if I would ever box again.”

Rubi Smallwood: “I did doubt if I would ever box again.”

A lot has changed in eight months for Rubi Smallwood. A debilitating illness that left her temporarily paralysed had threatened her thriving boxing career. “I can’t really live without boxing,” Smallwood told me in November. It now looks as though she won’t have to. The biggest fight of her life has been won.

The Macclesfield fighter had won three national titles when she was struck down with Guillain-Barré syndrome last September. Within a week of first feeling something was wrong, she was unable to walk. Smallwood had a spell in hospital before an extensive period of brutal rehabilitation that followed the initial diagnosis.

“Rehab was tough, a real challenge,” the 18-year-old says. “It was a slow process. Four months in a hospital, unable to move my body, was challenging, and many doubts came to my mind.”

But the months have been relatively kind to her. It’s been a battle. Of course it has. Six months of worry. Despite her early optimism, she knew there were no guarantees. Her health was a priority. Even a normal life was not a given. But Smallwood wanted more. She wanted to fight again. And fight she did. “Honestly, things are going great now,” Smallwood told FightPost. “I saw my consultant, and he said he didn’t think I’d come this far. So, to be back in the gym, it’s just great.”

“I did doubt if I would ever box again,” Smallwood added. “I was weak and felt I’d never get to the level I was before I went into the hospital. The consultant and nurses told me they were surprised I could even walk again. So, they highly doubted I would box again. Which is why I am also shocked myself.”

There are tentative plans being made for a ring return. The Winter Box Cup in December is the intended target. Smallwood is already making longer-term plans. “I want to experience some bouts in the amateurs as a senior, as I haven’t managed to as of yet. My long-term goal would be to turn professional and make my way to the top, become a world champion and make history for women’s boxing.”