The boxing community is mourning a tragic loss.
British boxer Sherif Lawal, has died after collapsing in the ring during his professional debut, his management company confirmed. He was 29.
“Despite the best efforts of the paramedics, he was later pronounced dead,” Warren Boxing Management said in a May 13 statement, adding that the organization, “would like to send our condolences to all of Sherif’s family, friends, coaches and all those close to him at this tragic time.”
Lawal was fighting Portuguese opponent Malam Varela when he was struck in the temple, per The Guardian, during the fourth of six-round middleweight fight at London’s Harrow Leisure Centre on May 12. Medical first responders reportedly tended to Lawal at the scene before he was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
General Secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBB) Richard Smith shared condolences for Lawal’s family on behalf of the organization and noted, “The thoughts of all those involved in Boxing in Great Britain are with them at this difficult time.”
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