It's a twelve-round fight he didn't expect. At the edge of the knockout, Michel Acariès finally got out. It must be said that the adversary, the coronavirus, was tenacious. "I'm getting better and better, I haven't fully recovered, it's been my 14th day of discharge from Cochin hospital where I stayed 3 and a half weeks", blows the 71-year-old man at Europe 1. Figure boxing guardian, he organized the biggest fights in the 1980s.
Today, Michel Acariès retraces his descent into hell: "I did a first test, through the nose, which turned out to be positive. Immediately after, I did a lung scan. then rushed, the Samu, and the hospital. I was hit. The first 10 days were nightmarish. I was in a semi-coma, I have blackouts at this level, "he explains. . "I did not eat much."
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Acariès thanks the caregivers
Finally, after a long battle, Michel Acariès left the hospital, certainly lessened. "I lost between 10 and 15 pounds. They put me on oxygen, 90%. I narrowly avoided intubation. When my oxygen fell to 1, to 2 of saturation, I could return to my home, "says relieved the brother of Louis Acariès, ex-boxer and former sports director of Olympique de Marseille in the mid-2000s.
"I was told it takes at least three weeks to recover. The voice came back, I was inaudible the first few days." In a stable state, Michel Acariès now has a thought for the nursing staff, and in particular that of the Cochin hospital, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. "We are recovering and we are thinking of the others, those who were more seriously affected. I take this opportunity to greet all the caregivers, all the doctors, and of course the remarkable Cochin hospital, which saves lives."
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Boxing, perhaps a little more than other sports, is also directly impacted by the health crisis. Impossible to hold a fight, which more in public. "It’s obvious that it’s a big blow, it challenges many champions who have titles to honor. And for promoters, for everyone in boxing, it’s extremely difficult to get through this stage "It’s almost a screwed up season. I don’t think we can see fights before October," said Michel Acariès. He doesn't organize any more. It is now his son, Sébastien, who has taken over.