No slow lanes for Nevin on road to recovery

Boxer John Joe Nevin has spoken about how he was "dragged right down to the bottom" in the wake of an attack that left him with two broken legs, and his plans to take the fast lane to a world title shot.

Having achieved all that he wanted to in amateur boxing, 2012 Olympic silver medallist Nevin signed with GreenBlood Boxing in Philadelphia, and has been tipped for success as a pro boxer.

He won on his professional debut in Boston on St Patrick's Day 2014 after earning a unanimous decision over Alberto Candelaria of Puerto Rico.

However, subsequently he had to recover from the horrific injuries sustained in an attack last April, in which both of his legs were broken.

Nevin will appear in a documentary on RTÉ on Wednesday (9pm) called John Joe Nevin: Reality Bites, in which his fight back from the injuries and attempts to get his career back on track are detailed.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Nevin revealed details of how his life had threatened to fall apart in the wake of the attack.

"If you're an athlete, a high-performance athlete, and you're boxing all-year round, and then for something like that to come and happen to you, take you out for a few months, and you're in a wheelchair, it's not the best of timing," Nevin said.

"I was in a bit of a bad spot, going drinking – pushing my wheelchair to the pub is not a nice place to be" - John Joe Nevin

"I suppose, just working with the coach helped me, just talking to them every day, because I was in a bit of a bad spot, going drinking – pushing my wheelchair to the pub is not a nice place to be. Thank God I'm out of it now, and I'm in the right spot now."

Nevin spoke about the gulf left in his life when he was not able to train; for an athlete used to being active and having a full schedule, inactivity presented serious challenges.

"I was always used to getting up. I had to do something," he said. "After the Olympics, I was told to take a month off without doing anything, and the following week, after getting back from the Olympics I had to go and do something. It's just been in my nature – I feel lazy if I don't do it."

He said that, at his lowest ebb, his drinking had been "very bad. For two weeks, non-stop, every day. It's nothing to be proud of; I'm ashamed of it. I'm just glad I moved on.

"Every boxer turns a corner, and that was my worst moment of my life, and it dragged me right down to the bottom, but now thankfully I'm here and I'm pushing on from it."

"It dragged me right down to the bottom, but now thankfully I'm here and I'm pushing on from it" - John Joe Nevin

He said a combination of talking to his family, and looking at old clips of his performances at the Olympics, had reminded him what he was capable of, saying: "I finally got it into my head to get up and get out to America for some rehabbing."

He did not go into details of the incident itself, saying: "It's a family matter, and you know, we've made up and pushed on beyond it, and that's it."

However, he was clear that it would not hold him back in his career, and that he would not allow any negativity to linger.

"I'm a boxer, and it's not in my nature - it's not in my nature anyway - to hold any badness in anyway, no matter who it was, if it was never my cousin," he said.

"So, my job is to win a world title, and that's what I'm going to try. I've got everything as an amateur, I've done everything I wanted there. No matter what, not even two broken legs will stop me chasing my dream."

Nevin's attention is now fully focused back on the ring, and his quest for a world title.

"I asked [my coaches to] not do no slow lanes, don't cut no corners," he said. "Get me in for a world title shot as quick as I can."

For more listen to Sunday Sport from 2pm every Sunday on RTÉ Radio 1

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