List of deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing
Appearance
The following is a list of deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing. In February 1995 it was estimated that "approximately 500 boxers have died in the ring or as a result of boxing since the Marquess of Queensberry Rules were introduced in 1884."[1] 22 boxers died in 1953 alone.[1]
Date of fight | Name | Nationality | Opponent | Opponent's nationality | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 December 1926 | Daniel Marshall | United Kingdom | Joshua Lloyd-Doyle | United Kingdom | Died one day following his first professional fight due to injuries sustained. |
25 August 1930 | Frankie Campbell | United States | Max Baer | United States | Campbell was knocked unconscious in the ring and died hours later in the hospital. Doctors discovered that his brain had been knocked loose from the connective tissue inside his head. |
10 February 1933 | Ernie Schaaf | United States | Primo Carnera | Italy | Suffered a knockout loss in the 13th round and immediately fell unconscious. He would go into a coma, and was rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery where he ultimately died four days later on Valentine's Day.[2] |
16 July 1940 | Peter Asero | United States | Pete Muscarnera | United States | Seemingly on his way to victory by knocking out Musarnera to the count of nine in the first round, Asero suffered a knockout in the fourth round. He never revived. Heart attack was given as the cause of death by the Athletic Commission. [3] |
24 June 1947 | Jimmy Doyle | United States | Sugar Ray Robinson | United States | Died 17 hours after being knocked out.[1] |
19 September 1949 | Archie Kemp | Australia | Jack Hassen | Australia | Kemp was carried from the ring on a stretcher and did not regain consciousness, dying of a cerebral haemorrhage. The referee refused to stop the fight.[4] |
22 February 1950 | Lavern Roach | United States | Georgie Small | United States | Lavern sustained a fatal head injury during the match and died the next day due to a subdural hemorrhage.[5] |
20 December 1950 | Sonny Boy West | United States | Percy Bassett | United States | West suffered from inter-cerebral hemorrhage resulting from a cerebral concussion and died the following day.[6] |
12 December 1954 | Ed Sanders | United States | Willie James | United States | Complained of headaches early in the day. Lost consciousness in the 11th round. Died after a long surgery to relieve bleeding in the brain.[7] |
24 March 1962 | Benny Paret | United States | Emile Griffith | United States | See Benny Paret vs. Emile Griffith III; Paret died of brain injuries 10 days later.[1][8] |
21 March 1963 | Davey Moore | United States | Sugar Ramos | Mexico | Moore collapsed in the dressing room after the fight, and died 75 hours later.[1][8] |
11 March 1969 | Ulrich Regis | Trinidad and Tobago | Joe Bugner | United Kingdom | Regis died four days after the fight following surgery to remove a blood clot.[1][8] |
2 February 1972 | Mick Pinkney | United Kingdom | Jim Moore | United Kingdom | Pinkney was knocked out in the fifth round and died after choking on his own blood.[1] |
19 July 1979 | Angelo Jacopucci | Italy | Alan Minter | United Kingdom | Jacopucci did not collapse in the ring; he and Minter met for a meal after the fight. Jacopucci then fell into a coma and died.[9] As a result of this, European title fights were limited to 12 rounds.[1][8] |
23 November 1979 | Willie Claasen | United States | Wilford Scypion | United States | Died following the fight.[1][8] |
9 January 1980 | Charles Newell | United States | Marlon Starling | United States | Died after being knocked out in the 7th round.[8] |
20 June 1980 | Cleveland Denny | Guyana | Gaétan Hart | Canada | Died 16 days after being knocked out.[8] |
19 September 1980 | Johnny Owen | United Kingdom | Lupe Pintor | Mexico | Owen was knocked out and died six weeks later without regaining consciousness.[1][8] |
7 May 1982 | Andy Balaba | Philippines | Hi-Sup Shin | South Korea | Died of injuries suffered in the fight.[8] |
14 June 1982 | Young Ali | Nigeria | Barry McGuigan | Ireland | Collapsed in the ring, fell into a coma, and died from a blood clot two days later.[9][8] |
13 November 1982 | Kim Duk-koo | South Korea | Ray Mancini | United States | Kim died four days after the fight. As a result of this, world championship fights were limited to 12 rounds.[1][8] |
1 September 1983 | Francisco Bejines | Mexico | Alberto Dávila | United States | Died of brain injuries.[1][8] |
29 May 1985 | Shawn Thomas | United States | Chris Calvin | United States | Died of head injuries.[1][8] |
2 November 1985 | Jacob Morake | South Africa | Brian Mitchell | South Africa | Died of head injuries.[1][8] |
29 November 1985 | Gerardo Derbez | Mexico | Jorge Vaca | Mexico | Knocked out and fell into a coma; died from brain injuries.[1][8] |
14 March 1986 | Steve Watt | United Kingdom | Rocky Kelly | United Kingdom | Died of brain injuries.[1][8] |
27 February 1987 | Jean-Claude Vinci | France | Lionel Jean | France | Vinci lost the fight on points, and died 30 minutes later.[1][8] |
14 June 1988 | Brian Baronet | South Africa | Kenny Vice | United States | Fell into a coma after being knocked out and died 3 days later.[1][8] |
13 August 1988 | Daniel Thetele | South Africa | Aaron Williams | South Africa | Collapsed and died.[1][8] |
4 March 1989 | David Thio | Ivory Coast | Terrence Alli | United States | Knocked out and died 10 days later.[1][8] |
17 August 1990 | Pat Stone | Australia | Gary Wills | Australia | Died of brain injuries the day after the fight.[1] |
27 May 1991 | Patrick Mdiniso | South Africa | Mongezi Mbadu | South Africa | Died after being knocked unconscious.[1][10] |
17 November 1991 | Clive Sikwebu | South Africa | Ndoda Mayende | South Africa | Died nine days after being knocked out.[1][10] |
1 December 1991 | Minoru Katsumata | Japan | Takashi Murata | Japan | Died after being knocked out in the 10th round.[1] It was his first professional fight.[11] |
26 April 1994 | Bradley Stone | United Kingdom | Richie Wenton | United Kingdom | Died from a blood clot.[1][9][8] |
22 July 1994 | Robert Wangila | Kenya | David Gonzalez | United States | Died after an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.[1][8] |
6 May 1995 | Jimmy Garcia | Colombia | Gabriel Ruelas | Mexico | Died 13 days later, due to a blood clot on the brain.[8] |
12 October 1995 | James Murray | United Kingdom | Drew Docherty | United Kingdom | Murray collapsed in the final round and died the next day.[9][8] |
13 December 1997 | Felix Bwalya | Zambia | Paul Burke | United Kingdom | Was knocked down three times in the final rounds; died 9 days later.[8] |
12 September 1999 | Randie Carver | United States | Kabary Salem | Egypt | Carver was headbutted repeatedly during the early rounds. He lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital. Carver died two days later from blunt head trauma.[12] |
23 June 2002 | Pedro Alcázar | Panama | Fernando Montiel | Mexico | Alcazar was declared healthy by ringside doctors, with no visible signs of any trauma. Collapsed in his hotel room the following day and died in hospital.[13] |
18 July 2003 | Brad Rone | United States | Billy Zumbrun | United States | He turned around to walk to his corner following the 1st round when he collapsed, dying instantly. An autopsy later revealed Rone had died of a heart attack.[14] |
1 July 2005 | Martín Sánchez | Mexico | Rustam Nugaev | Russia | After the fight, a commission inspector noticed Sánchez walking strangely, he was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma. He died the following morning.[15] |
17 September 2005 | Leavander Johnson | United States | Jesús Chávez | Mexico | Johnson collapsed in the locker room following the fight and was taken to hospital where he was placed in a medically induced coma following surgery to correct a subdural hematoma. He passed away on 22 September 2005 [16] |
18 March 2006 | Kevin Payne | United States | Ryan Maraldo | United States | Payne died the following day following surgery after suffering a brain injury during the fight.[17] |
31 March 2007 | Lito Sisnorio | Philippines | Chatchai Sasakul | Thailand | Sustained brain injuries during the fight and died the next day in hospital. The fight was deemed controversial as Sisnorio's role in the fight was not officially sanctioned by the Philippine Games and Amusement Board.[18] |
25 December 2007 | Choi Yo-sam | South Korea | Heri Amol | Indonesia | He collapsed while still in the ring after the bout and was rushed to the Soonchunhyang University Hospital immediately after the fight in order to undergo emergency brain surgery. He died on 3 January 2008 after being removed from his ventilator.[19] |
30 April 2009 | Benjamín Flores | Mexico | Al Seeger | United States | Flores suffered a brain injury during the fight. He died from his injuries on 5 May 2009 [20] |
18 July 2009 | Marco Antonio Nazareth | Mexico | Omar Chávez | Mexico | Nazareth collapsed in the ring and had to be taken to the local hospital where he underwent a three-hour surgery to treat a cerebral hemorrhage. He died four days later.[21] |
20 November 2009 | Francisco Rodriguez | Mexico | Teon Kennedy | United States | Rodríguez immediately collapsed, losing consciousness while waiting for an official decision. He was rushed to a hospital for emergency brain surgery and died 2 days later.[22] |
5 December 2011 | Roman Simakov | Russia | Sergey Kovalev (boxer) | Russia | Simakov died of brain injuries after collapsing in the ring.[23] |
31 March 2012 | Muhammad Afrizal | Indonesia | Irvan Barita Marbun | Indonesia | Afrizal began vomiting an hour after the bout and fell unconscious with a hemorrhage and died four days after brain surgery to remove a blood clot.[24] |
17 July 2012 | Bae Ki-suk | South Korea | Jung Jun-ki | South Korea | Bae underwent five hours of brain surgery following the fight. After the operation, his body temperature, blood pressure and pulse returned to almost normal, but he remained unconscious and died four days after the bout. |
28 March 2013 | Michael Norgrove | United Kingdom | Tom Bowen | United Kingdom | Collapse in Round 5 died 6 April without regaining consciousness.[8] |
29 September 2016 | Mike Towell | United Kingdom | Dale Evans | United Kingdom | Died the following day.[8] |
27 May 2017 | David Whittom | Canada | Gary Kopas | Canada | Whittom suffered from a brain hemorrhage and was rushed to Saint John Regional Hospital the next morning to have part of his skull removed. Spent the next 10-months in a medically induced coma before passing away on 16 March 2018.[25] |
16 June 2017 | Tim Hague | Canada | Adam Braidwood | Canada | Was knocked down five times in the first two rounds; died two days later.[26] |
24 February 2018 | Scott Westgarth | United Kingdom | Dec Spelman | United Kingdom | Scott Westgarth, defeated Dec Spelman. Westgarth was knocked down just before the end of the fight and collapsed in the locker room. Westgarth was rushed to a nearby hospital and died.[27] |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "BOXING : BOXERS DYING OR LEFT SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER FIGHTS". The Independent. 27 February 1995. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ "The Strange Death of Ernie Schaaf". Boxing.com. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ |Boxing Records website| New York City newspapers 16, 18 July 1940 | Boxer Drops Dead in Queensboro Ring and Asero Autopsy Shows Boxer Had No Injury |Personal research by Ricky DeSoiza
- ^ "Final bell for Gentleman Jack Hassen". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "My First One: Lavern Roach v. Georgie Small, 1950". Bad Left Hook. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Sonny Boy West Succombs to Ring Injury". The Telegraph. 22 December 1950. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Ed Sanders". Sports Reference.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Boxing's deadly toll". BBC News. 5 May 1998. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d James Reed (20 January 1996). "Fighting memories of death". The Independent. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Boxer, 20, Dies From Injuries". New York Times. 27 November 1991. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ Boxing record for Minoru Katsumata from BoxRec (registration required)
- ^ "Boxer Randie Carver Dies". CBS Sports. 13 September 1999. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Doctors puzzled by boxer's sudden death". News24. 16 July 2002. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ ""The Rone Incident"". boxing.com. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "WBC launches probe into boxer Sanchez's death". ESPN. 23 August 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Johnson dies from brain injury sustained in title fight". ESPN. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Boxer dies after suffering brain injury in fight". ESPN. 20 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Requiem for a boxer: Who will cry for Angelito?". Inquirer. 4 April 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "South Korean boxer Choi Yo Sam declared dead". NY Times. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Houston boxer dies five days after title fight in Dallas". Chron. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Nazareth dies of brain hemorrhage". ESPN. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Chicago boxer Rodriguez dies at 25". ESPN. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Roman Simakov Dies of Brain Injuries". Boxing.com. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Muhammad Afrizal dies after fight". ESPN. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Boxer David Whittom dies after 10 months in a coma following Fredericton fight". CBC. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ^ "Tim Hague: Former UFC fighter dies aged 34 after knockout in boxing bout". BBC Sport. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ "British boxer Scott Westgarth dies after winning boxing match on Saturday". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-02-27.