Billy Dib: The grief of his wife’s loss floors boxing champ
CHAMPION boxer Billy Dib has opened up about the shock death of his young wife, saying it “tears you to shreds” and that he still visits her grave every day.
NSW
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CHAMPION boxer Billy Dib has opened up about the shock death of his young wife, saying it “tears you to shreds” and that he still visits her grave every day.
Writing exclusively for The Daily Telegraph ahead of a TV special on SBS tomorrow, the former IBF featherweight and IBO super featherweight champion said despite 21-year-old Sara’s leukaemia prognosis they had expected her to beat the blood and bone marrow cancer.
Instead he buried her last September with his brother, revolutionary educator and now Labor MP Jihad Dib, by his side. “I never thought it would happen,” he said.
BILLY WRITES: I STAND BY HER GRAVE EVERY DAY
“We were confident, the doctors were confident. But on 27 September, the reality hit me as I buried Sara.”
The 30-year-old said he had gone through incredible highs and lows in his life — including a knockout loss in Japan — but that nothing had prepared him for the biggest blow of all.
“It’s still raw, it will always be. I suppose no one can understand this sort of grief until they suffer it,” he said.
“There’s no training that prepares you for this and no amount of praying, begging, pleading and crying changes the reality of the emptiness you feel. Those of you who have lost a loved one will know the pain I write about, the one that tears you to shreds, debilitates you and occupies your every thought.”
Dib threw himself back into training after Sara’s death and was to have returned to the ring at London’s 02 Arena before 20,000 fans but in another cruel twist he has had to pull out with an injured hand.
“I’m gutted,” he said.
“It was to be such an important fight and a good chance for me to put some of the hardships of last year behind me.”
But instead of wallowing in self-pity Dib has found comfort in his Islamic faith and devoted himself to mentoring troubled youths.
“I know that I’m a role model to many people,” he said.
“It’s a big responsibility, but I know if I use my profile to be a positive influence on kids then I know that I’m playing a small role in making the world a better place.”
And amid all the anger and sorrow Dib says he still feels grateful for having known Sara at all. “Every day I visit Sara, I am grateful because I was lucky enough to have her in my life, even if for too short a time,” he said.
“Every day I pray to God, thanking him for the blessings he has given me.”
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