Family optimistic as Shannan Taylor fights for life

By Mike Gandon, Peter Fitzgerald and Tim Barrow
Updated November 6 2012 - 2:55am, first published November 29 2011 - 7:15am
The Bulli Blaster Shannan Taylor.
The Bulli Blaster Shannan Taylor.

Shannan Taylor sat up in his hospital bed a short time ago, according to his father Steve Taylor.Shortly after 5pm, Taylor moved in his bed before sitting upright, Steve told the Mercury.An hour earlier, he opened his eyes and squeezed a nurse’s hand, Steve said.Taylor was admitted to Wollongong Hospital in the early hours of yesterday morning following a suspected drug overdose.He was placed on life support, and family and friends feared for his life.Taylor’s health had gradually improved during his first 24 hours in hospital, where he was able to take some breaths on his own, with the life support machine helping with others.It wasn’t until about 4pm today he showed signs of movement.Medical staff began massage and physiotherapy on Taylor about lunch time today as they continually monitored his condition.His parents, Steve and Karren, have spent the majority of the past 36 hours at Wollongong Hospital with their son, as have some other family members and friends.Taylor’s former trainer and still close friend, Brad Gallagher, has been one of the friends at the bedside of the top boxer.‘‘Shannan is still on the life support machines to help him breathe but everything is going well,’’ Gallagher told the Mercury.‘‘He has a lot of colour ... he’s got a good suntan.’’Gallagher said although the doctors were not saying a lot, it appeared they were satisfied with how Taylor was progressing.‘‘Shannan will get physio three times a day starting today,’’ Gallagher said.‘‘He’s fighting hard.‘‘He has the heart of a lion.‘‘Like in the ring, he’s never given up in the ring and he’s not giving up now.‘‘Thank you for everyone’s support. My love goes to his family and kids.’’According to friends, the WBF middleweight champion was relaxed and happy on Saturday and his trainer, Nudge Mieli, said he was as fit as he had been in years.The 39-year-old was looking forward to a bout with Garth Wood in Melbourne in February.So it came as a great shock to those closest to him when they learned he was fighting for his own survival yesterday.‘‘Shannan’s been training so hard. He’s boxing better now than he has for some time,’’ Mieli said.Conflicting reports led to widespread public confusion yesterday, with some radio outlets and social media sites incorrectly reporting that Taylor had died.Taylor has three young children to his present partner, Bec.He also has a fourth child from a previous relationship.On Facebook yesterday, Bec asked for privacy and respect for the family.‘‘Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers at such a difficult time; as you can imagine it’s a very hard time for myself and the children so I would like to ask that people please respect our privacy as I’m doing my best to shelter our children and trying my best to remain strong. Bec x’’Known for his dynamic and powerful punching, Taylor became a household name when he fought ‘‘Sugar’’ Shane Mosley for the WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas in March 2001.At the time, Mosley was regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and stopped Taylor for the first time in his career with a sixth-round technical knockout.‘‘Hope God will bless him with his life back and a speedy recovery,’ Mosley posted on Twitter yesterday afternoon.Taylor has won 52 of his 65 fights to date, including 37 by knockout.In 2009, Anthony ‘‘The Man’’ Mundine won the vacant WBA international middleweight crown against Taylor in a unanimous points decision at WIN Entertainment Centre.‘‘My prayers go out to him and his family and hopefully he can pull through,’’ Mundine said.Taylor bounced back from the loss to Mundine, winning his most recent fight to claim the WBF middleweight and IBF Pan Pacific middleweight titles over Sintung Kietbusaba at the Snakepit last month.Former Australian middleweight champion Vito Gaudiosi, now a trainer in Dapto, said Taylor was a warrior.‘‘I’m five years his senior - our birthdays are just a few days apart,’’ Gaudiosi said. ‘‘He is a great athlete, and as a young person, as a kid he was destined to go all the way.‘‘He was only 14 when we started training together. We did a lot of sparring at the Bulli PCYC. He was a handful - a very crafty and strong fighter.’’

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