A 29-year-old British boxer has died after collapsing in his first professional fight.
Middleweight boxer Sherif Rawal collapsed in the ring at Harrow Leisure Center in London during his match against Portuguese opponent Malam Varela on Sunday. In the fourth round of the scheduled six-round fight, Rawal suffered a blow to the head and went down.
Paramedics were called to the ring and attended to Rawal at the scene. Afterwards, 29-year-old Mr. A was taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance, but he died. Her cause of death has not been released.
The match between Lawal and Varela was the first match on the card that night. The remaining events have been cancelled.
that much British Boxing Board of Control Rawal’s death is a ‘tragic death’.
“The British Boxing Board would like to express its condolences to the family of Sheridine Rawal who tragically passed away following his boxing match on Sunday,” Robert W. Smith, the board’s secretary-general, said in a statement. “The thoughts of everyone involved in British boxing are with them at this difficult time.”
The boxing match organizer also confirmed Rawal’s death and posted a photo of the late boxer on his Instagram along with a message of support for Rawal’s loved ones.
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“Last night Sherif Lawal made his debut at a show at Harrow Leisure Centre,” the promoters wrote. “Unfortunately, Sheriff collapsed during the fight and despite the best efforts of paramedics, he was later pronounced dead.
“Warren Boxing Management would like to extend our condolences to all of Sheriff’s family, friends, coaches and everyone close to him at this tragic time.”
Sadly, Rawal is just one of many boxers who have died from injuries sustained in the ring.
A number of high-profile boxing deaths in 2019 led British brain injury charity Headway to call for a complete ban on boxing.
“Claims that boxers understand the risks or that such tragedies are unpredictable are not credible at all. Young boxers are not given the information to make informed choices,” said Peter McCabe, CEO of Headway.
“If the ultimate goal of boxing is to numb the opponent with repeated blows to the head, boxing will remain a dangerous activity.”
In 2019, 27-year-old American boxer Patrick Day died four days after suffering a traumatic brain injury during a fight in Chicago. His opponent and fellow American, Charles Conwell, penned an open letter after Day’s death, writing: “I never thought something like this would happen to you. All I wanted was to win.”
“If I could take everything back, I would. “No one deserves this to happen to them,” he added.
In the same year, 28-year-old Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev died, and 23-year-old Argentine boxer Hugo Alfredo Santillan also died.
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