When a cheeky smile spreads across the lovely face of little Raheem Eubank, one thing is crystal clear.
The one-year-old, grandson of boxing legend Chris Eubank, is the spitting image of his late dad Sebastian.
A year ago, tragedy struck when boxer Seb had a cardiac arrest and drowned while he was in the sea in Dubai watching the sunset.
He was only 29 – and Raheem was just 32 days old.
A year on, Seb’s widow Salma Abdelati and his dad Chris are sharing their heartbreak and cherished family pictures with the Sunday People.
Chris, 55, said: “I can’t tell you how proud I am of this man. He was my son and I loved him. Every moment we spent together was my favourite but there were so, so many moments I missed when we weren’t together.”
After Seb’s death, Salma came across a heartbreakingly wonderful reminder of how much he adored his son when she discovered a string of videos he had secretly recorded on his mobile phone.
Speaking from the home she and her husband shared in Abu Dhabi, she said: “When I found Seb’s phone, I found that he had made a video every single day for Raheem, which is now a treasure trove for him, to say, ‘Look how much he loved you’.
“He talked to him, saying, ‘Look how hairy you are, you’ve got your mum’s cheeks but you’ve got my nose’. It was all captured on video when I was sleeping – he’d do that during his night shifts.
“I only saw them after he passed. It was so beautiful and I’m so relieved I’ve got those.”
Former middle and super-middleweight world champion Chris is determined to focus on the legacy of his boxer and nutritionist son, who was dedicated to charity work to ease poverty in Sudan. Chris has reflected on Seb’s strict upbringing and said: “It’s a shame how tough I was but he was patient with me.
“Tough because I’m a good man, I steer my children straight: walk straight, walk good, live a humble and meek life.
“And he was walking straighter than I could ever imagine.”
Salma, 41, said: “Seb was so proud of his dad and felt very close to him.
“It was a deep and spiritual relationship. I see many similarities between them.”
For Salma and Seb, it was love at first sight when they met in Abu Dhabi in 2018.
Salma, who is of Sudanese origin but grew up in Britain, said: “I knew he was right. We started dating straight away. Within the first 10 days he said, ‘You’re going to be the mother of my children – I’ve been manifesting you, I know you’re the one’.” She added, poignantly: “He always wanted a lot of children.”
They tied the knot in 2019 and travelled to bless their marriage in Mecca – revered in Islam as the house of God and the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.
They wanted to throw a wedding party in April 2020 but had to cancel it due to Covid.
Salma became pregnant that October. She said: “We were both delighted. Seb took it in his stride. He was very strict on nutrition and wanted the baby to have the best health.”
Raheem was born on June 5 last year. She said: “Seb held him and stared at him. He was checking his ears, hands, checking he had all his limbs, checking his birthmarks.
“Wherever Seb had a tattoo, Raheem has a birthmark.
“Seb had a lion going across his side, and Raheem has a birthmark that goes right across. He was born three weeks early – just in time for Seb to have those weeks with him.”
The events of the day of Seb’s death are still too painful for Salma and Chris to talk about in detail. Salma said it looked as if he suffered a cardiac arrest at sunset on a beach in Dubai on July 7 last year, falling into shallow water and drowning. She said: “He loved the sun and loved to watch it set and rise and meditate. I couldn’t believe what had happened.”
Seb’s death devastated Salma, who could not eat or breastfeed.
She said: “I lost 12kg in 10 days, it was horrible.”
Heart tests have since come back which reveal that Seb’s condition was not hereditary.
His relatives, including Chris, travelled to Dubai to rally around Salma and attend the funeral, where he met Raheem for the first time.
She said: “Raheem helped all of us – his name means mercy, compassion. Whenever Seb’s family sees Raheem they just want to hold him because he reminds them of him, they call him Seb Junior.”
To make matters worse, Salma’s father died eight weeks after Seb. “It was a tough time,” she said.
Since then, she’s struggled to cope with losing Seb, who was teetotal. “I felt so guilty he died before me because I’m older and he was so healthy,” she said.
And she admits fears about bringing up Raheem without his dad have kept her awake at night.
She said: “I’m a much older mum and banked on the younger father to run around playing football with him and all that.
“His grandad’s a world champion – these genes need someone sporty.
“I can play chess and read but I can’t do sports.”
Salma said launching The Sebastian Eubank Charitable Foundation has helped give her “perspective”.
It seeks to continue projects Seb started in Sudan, such as funding supplies for the Mygoma orphanage and building wells in rural areas to provide clean drinking water.
Funds raised have installed and connected a 3,000-litre tank to a water well in one village, serving 700 families. It is branded with a lion, Seb’s logo, and Salma travelled out to see it in February. She said: “It was really emotional but I was really happy and proud.
“The whole village came and we planted lime trees and mango trees, and had lamb and rice.
“It’s healing – you have to go through that. If you don’t confront your pain it festers and it could cripple you. I want to continue to do that.”
To mark the anniversary of Seb’s death, Salma travelled to Hove, East Sussex, where he was raised, to launch the foundation among his family and friends. She said: “It was beautiful –pockets of people you’d never see together, all different colours, ages and backgrounds.
“We raised around £5,000 and a local artist did a mural for him.”
And watching Chris, one of Britain’s greatest boxers, spend time with his grandson has been another comfort. “He whispers affirmations in his ear – things like ‘You are amazing’. It’s really, really nice.”
Salma said Seb was “so pure” he “would want me to be happy and move on”. But she added: “It’s a question of time that heals – and whoever comes to step in. Raheem can’t be exposed to just anyone.
“His dad was Sebastian Eubank, a very big person. Who is going to fill those shoes?”
Monday would have been Seb’s 31st birthday and his widow will be spending it in prayer.
Salma and Raheem visit Seb’s grave in Dubai every week. She said: “It’s a peaceful place to go, it doesn’t have to be dark, gloomy. Raheem goes and sees his dad with me and we know he will continue to be part of his life.”
And Chris agreed, saying: “He is always with me.”
Salma now hopes their son will grow up to be a heart surgeon, explaining: “If he picks up athletics as a side gig I wouldn’t mind. For me, he’s got to have a profession that helps people.”
You can support the Sebastian Eubank Charitable Foundation at thesebeubankcf.org
