Boxer Sheriff Lawal dies after his first professional fight
Boxer Sherif Lawal died after being knocked down in his first professional fight in London on Sunday, the BBC reported.
Lawal, who had already sustained injuries in the fight, was hit in the temple by Malam Varela in the fourth round. The 29-year-old middleweight fell to the mat, but the referee didn’t even count to 10 because the fighter was obviously in distress, a witness told The Sun.
According to the tabloid, medical staff cared for him for about 20 minutes before he was taken away on a stretcher. He reportedly suffered cardiac arrest, The Telegraph reported.
The British Boxing Board of Control sent its condolences to Lawal’s family.
“God rest his soul, the poor old guy,” said WBC heavyweight champion and fellow Briton Tyson Fury, according to The Telegraph. “When you play this sport, you know it’s a dangerous sport.”
The “Clash of the Titans” event was canceled after the fight, the first of the evening on the supporting program, ESPN reported.
“It’s a difficult time for everyone involved in the boxing community and we’re trying to process what’s happened,” event organizer Costakis Evangelou told The Sun. “Nobody wants to see something like this in any sport.”
CJ Hussein, who trained Lawal, told the Camden New Journal in March that the boxer had “all the talent to become a great middleweight.”
“He is a real inspiration to all the younger boxers in the gym,” said Hussein.
