Boxers who tragically died in the ring

Boxing is a brutal sport that carries a real risk of physical harm. In fact, since 1890 more than 1,876 fighters have died as a result of injuries suffered in the ring, according to CNN. That’s around 13 people a year. While there are a lot of positives about boxing you cannot skip past the potential dangers of this sport. Let's take a look at some shocking cases where boxers have died in the ring. 

In June 1947, Jimmy Doyle died in the hospital following a boxing match with Sugar Ray Robinson in Cleveland, Ohio. Doyle, an African-American welterweight, was knocked down in the eighth round and never regained consciousness, according to Boxing247.com

He died in a local hospital after undergoing surgery 17 hours after the fight.He was just at 22-years-old. According to Robinson’s biographer Wil Haywood, Robinson gave the earnings of his next four fights to Doyle's mother so she could buy a house.

Scottish welterweight Mike Towell fought Dale Evans on September 29, 2016 in Glasgow, where he was TKO’d in the fifth round of the scheduled 12-round bout.

The 25-year old was taken to a hospital, where it was revealed that he had  severe brain bleeding, which resulted in his death on September 30, 2016. According to the Guardian, Towell had ceased sparring a few weeks before the fatal battle owing to crippling migraines.

Benny Paret was a Cuban professional boxer who competed in the welterweight division in the 1960s. On March 24, 1962, Paret fought Emile Griffith in a championship bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During the fight, Griffith landed a series of hard punches on Paret, who was unable to defend himself effectively. The referee, Ruby Goldstein, did not stop the fight despite Paret's obvious distress.

In the twelfth and final round, Griffith landed a powerful right hook that sent Paret reeling into the ropes. He collapsed to the canvas, and the referee stopped the fight. Paret was carried out of the ring on a stretcher and taken to the hospital, where he was placed on life support. Paret never regained consciousness and died ten days later on April 3, 1962, due to severe brain injuries sustained during the fight.

In June 2022, lightweight South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi died following a fight in Durban, South Africa against Siphesihle Mntungwa. The 24-year-old collapsed towards the end of the fight before being rushed to the hospital, according to Boxing South Africa (BSA).

Image credit - Twitter @ BOXRAW

The boxer died in the hospital on June 7 after suffering internal bleeding following a brain injury. A  haunting video released on social media appeared after the fight showed to show Buthelezi fighting in the direction of an empty area of the ring, appearing disoriented, forcing the referee to call the fight off, ESPN reported.

Image credit - Instagram @timboxeo

Frankie Campbell was an Italian-American heavyweight. On August 25, 1930, in San Francisco, California, Campbell was killed in the ring by future heavyweight champion Max Baer.

After knocking out Max Baer in the second round, Campbell headed to the ropes. Baer sprang to his feet and delivered a thundering right punch to the side of his opponent’s head. Campbell continued to fight until the fifth round when the referee was forced to step in. He died just hours later in the hospital from a double cerebral hemorrhage. 

A korean boxing world champion, Yo-Sam Choi died while defending his WBO Flyweight title against Hari Amoi in 2007. Choi was knocked out in the final seconds of the 12th round, though was able to beat the count and win in a unanimous decision.

Choi collapsed in the ring and had to be evacuated to the hospital, where he underwent urgent surgery. Choi was declared brain-dead seven days later and died on the eighth day after being taken off life support, Reuters reported.

In 2019, US light middleweight boxer Patrick Day died following his fight Charles Conwell in Chicago. The 27-year-old was knocked down three times in the fight and in the final knockdown Day’s head severely rebounded on the canvas.

The referee promptly stopped the fight after witnessing Day’s fall, Reuters reported, and Day was transported to a hospital where he began having convulsions and soon fell into a coma. Day died four days later, on October 16, from what was characterized as a catastrophic brain injury.

David “Davey” S. Moore was a featherweight world champion boxer from the United States who competed professionally from 1953 to 1963. In the 10th round of his featherweight title fight with Sugar Ramos in Los Angelese in March 1963, Davey Moore was pushed to the floor awkwardly, falling on his neck on the bottom rope.

He was able to stand and finish the round on his feet before the referee called a halt to the action. Unfortunately, the Kentucky-born champion lost much more than his championship after a gruelling bout, going into a coma in his dressing room from which he never awoke and dying 75 hours later in a hospital bed, according to the Guardian.

Musa Yamak, a Turkish-German heavyweight was an undeafeated rising star in the fighting world with an 8-0 record when faced Dutch boxer Hamza Wandera in Munich. Yamak was knocked out in the second round by a huge shot from his opponent, according to Fox Sports.

Image credit – Instagram @yeniskarahisar

In the third round, he attempted to come out but collapsed to the canvas. The battle was immediately stopped by the referee, and the event was cancelled as doctors rushed to Yamak’s help and he was quickly transferred to the hospital.

Image credit – Facebook @MusaAskanYamak

He was pronounce dead soon after with officials announcing that he had died of a catastrophic heart attack.

Image credit – YouTube @Aunt Rona

Maxim Kaibkhanovich Dadashev was a Russian boxer who fought in the light-welterweightweight class. Dadashev, a 28-year-old amateur champion, died after a fight in Oxon Hill, Maryland in 2019

Dadashwv died after suffering a brain injury during his IBF light welterweight battle with Subriel Matias. The boxer was hospitalized following the fight and died a few days later, according to the New York Times.

Scott Westgarth was a light heavyweight boxer from the United Kingdom. He died on February 26, 2018 from injuries suffered after winning a 10-round light heavyweight fight.

Westgarth, 31, was knocked down in the final round of his bout against Spelman, but he recovered to win on points. He even post-match interview before meeting with medics in the locker room, where concerns about his wellbeing were raised.

Westgarth died the following day, February 25, 2018. Westgarth’s final fight was widely considered to be the biggest victory of his career, the Mirror reported.