David Worth didn’t put up it for likes. He didn’t shove it right into a promo reel. He simply quietly reminded the boxing world of one thing brutal: the scariest puncher he ever stood in entrance of is now barely remembered—and barely alive.
“I sparred a Russian referred to as Denis Boytsov in Germany as soon as,” Worth advised Every day Star Sport. “He solely hit the highest of my head, however he was a robust puncher.”
That’s all it took. Not a looping proper. Not a clear uppercut. Only a glancing shot to the crown—and Worth, who’s taken punches from the division’s heaviest hitters, nonetheless can’t overlook it. That claims every part.
Let’s not sugar-coat it. Worth’s profession became a spotlight reel for different folks’s rise. He obtained flattened by names plastered throughout belts, posters, and DAZN offers. However the man who left the deepest mark wasn’t any of them.
It was Boytsov.
And also you barely hear his title anymore.
He was 36-1. He had the momentum. He had the palms. He was lined up for a world title shot. Then he vanished. In Might 2015, he was discovered unconscious between two Berlin prepare stations. Cranium fractured. Mind swollen. Medically induced coma. Seven weeks.
They mentioned it was an “accident.”
Berlin police had the gall to name it an “accident.” In the meantime, Boytsov’s personal web site mentioned it was linked to years of threats. His spouse referred to as it mob revenge.
Worth didn’t mince phrases: “He obtained completely battered by a gang of Russian fellas and left for useless. He couldn’t combat once more.”
And he by no means did.
Boytsov dropped over 30 kilos in hospital. Couldn’t converse. Couldn’t stroll. Initially handled in Berlin, he was later transferred to a rehabilitation clinic in Hamburg. In August 2021, Boytsov was moved again to his native Russia for continued care. . He’s nonetheless beneath 24-hour care, unable to talk, and continues to require help for every day actions.
All whereas the game moved on—pretending he by no means existed.
The hype went to safer palms. The belts went to ticket sellers. The world by no means noticed what Boytsov might’ve been. He was buried beneath a system that by no means needed him close to a title.
No comeback story. No redemption arc. Nobody crying right into a mic about how he “overcame adversity.” He simply disappeared.
And subsequent time somebody begins itemizing who punched the toughest—Tyson this, Wilder that—keep in mind who David Worth named.
It wasn’t the poster boys. It was the one who by no means obtained his shot.
And we’ll by no means know what he might’ve finished.
What a tragic, sorry waste.
