'We're so proud of him getting a bronze'

DARREN SUTHERLAND:NOT LONG after the final bell rang out in the Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing and Darren Sutherland succumbed to long-time rival James DeGale, his father Tony stepped into the suburban Navan morning bearing a proud smile and a healthy supply of perspective and grace.

"He said he was going to go in there and give it his best, and he gave it his all," he said. "But that's how boxing goes. Sometimes you can get it right on the night, and sometimes it doesn't go right.

"We're so proud of him for getting a bronze medal. Even getting to the Olympics was his goal. He got there, he done his best, and we love him to bits."

It was barely 8.30am and the Navan estate had the feel of a Potemkin village. All the noise came from the house with the tricolour bunting strung out from the upstairs windows and the three flags planted firmly on the lawn: Meath, Dublin, Ireland.

Unfeasibly relaxed under the gaze of two dozen journalists staked out in his garden, talk turned quickly to plans for a hero's homecoming.

"We have to throw a party for him," his father said. "He has done well, everybody is proud of him. Fair play to him. But fair play to DeGale for getting there. Since Darren stepped into the ring for the very first fight, we never had any animosity towards any of his opponents."

He was joined on the doorstep by Darren's mother Linda - who confessed she hadn't been able to watch a second of the fight - and daughters Nicole (19) and Shaneika (17).

"I was in and out, but I can't watch," Linda said. "He's still a champ in my eyes."

Tony was asked what he would say to his son when they got to speak. "Absolutely love him to bits," he replied in an accent that told of his journey from the Caribbean island of St Vincent to Dublin by way of north London. "One loss is not the end of the world . . . You can't win them all."

Later, when the crowds had scattered, he leaned against the car and traced the line from the boy who bought his first boxing glove at 15 years of age to the man who fought yesterday as one of the best in the world. "We tried him with everything - football, tennis. Got him the best racket going, runners. Didn't like it. We tried Gaelic football - got the boots and everything. Didn't like it. He tried rapping too. I actually made him buy his first boxing glove. I was sick of buying things that ended up in the attic. Boxing - he took to it straight away."

Tony has been to nearly every one of his son's fights, and those he missed are on DVDs stacked in the house. "He'll turn pro soon," he reminded us. "Definitely."

By now the estate was coming to life again: a few kids pushed past on their scooters and the last of the commuters were pulling out of their drives. Tony had to bring the bins out, and then he'd sit down to breakfast.

"I didn't eat since yesterday afternoon. I couldn't." And with that, he smiled, thanked everyone for coming and returned to his Friday morning.