Bad news seems to travel in bunches and boxing is no exception. The boxing community has been hit with several tragedies in the past month with four former or current boxers? dead and one in an induced coma. Only one death was not-traumatic.
Tony Ayala Jr. (1963-2015)
?He could have been one of the greatest.?Osmar Alaniz, boxing coach and friend of the family
The controversial Ayala, 52, was found dead inside a gym in San Antonio, Texas, where he was once trained by his father, Tony Ayala Sr., who passed away in April 2014. Reportedly, Ayala had been working with local children and hoping to reopen the gym. Police received a call about a man found dead at the family-owned gym, a SAPD spokeswoman said. The cause of death has not been released.
Andrew ?Six Heads? Lewis (1970-2015)
?Thanks for Love you gave me Champ you will Always be my Champ! RIP.??Trainer Butch Sanchez
Former WBA welterweight champion Andrew ?Six Heads? Lewis, 44, died after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle in his native Guyana outside the capital city of Georgetown.
Said one poster, ?Andrew Lewis ~?The Gentleman from Guyana? ran the FYF Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym in Georgetown, Guyana. Open to all youth. To say ?Six Heads? was a good guy was an understatement. He was a ?great guy.??
Ali Raymi (1974-2015)
?My chin is titanium; my fists are uranium.??Raymi
Sana?a, is home to colorful and undefeated junior flyweight Ali Raymi (25-0, 25 KOs)?yes, 25 knockouts. Having fought every one of his pro bouts in Sana?a. Ali?s first 21 wins came in the first round against undefeated (but fledgling) fighters. He beat Prince Maz on November 19, 2014, to win the Universal Boxing Organization world light flyweight title.
The 41-year-old Raymi was virtually unknown outside Yemen, but he possessed a braggadocio quality and called himself ?God.? Though he never got to fight anyone close to being world-class, he was not tentative about issuing challenges to the top fighters of the division; undefeated Thai Wanheng Menayothin (37-0), rugged Roman Gonzalez, slick Guillermo Rigondeaux, and Pinoy Merlito Sabillo were among his targets.
Sadly, Ali Raymi died on May 23 in an air strike.
Eamonn Magee Jr.(1993-2015)
Absolutely terrible, shocking news.—Carl Frampton.?
Super lightweight Eamonn Magee Jr., son of the former WBU welterweight champion of the same name, died as a result of stabbing in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A suspect has been arrested,
The 2-0 (2 KOs) pro is the son of Eamonn ?The Terminator? Magee Sr., who held titles in the lightweight, super lightweight, and welterweight classes amassing a 27-6, (20 KOs) record before retiring in 2007. Among his high profile fights was the 2002 sellout bout against ex-world champion Ricky Hatton in Manchester.
Denis Boytsov (born 1986)
?I don?t want to accuse anybody in this horrible accident?, ?I just pray for Denis to fully recover and to find out who those animals who had done this to him were. I will do everything to help Denis see his still-to-be-born child but expect his awakening no earlier than in a couple of weeks?– Gagik Khachatryan to Sportbox.ru.
This German-based Russian heavyweight is now hospitalized and fighting for his life after a metro tunnel incident in Germany that is being investigated by police.
The 29-year-old Russian contender (36-1) was reportedly found by a train conductor in Berlin, with severe head trauma and injured hands, in the railway tunnel between the Bismarckstrasse and Wilmersdorfer Strasse metro stations. Boytsov was also found to be intoxicated. It is still too early to speculate as to what happened, but rumors and accusations continue to swirl.
In any case, Boytsov?s boxing career is not expected to continue.
Braydon Smith (1991-2015)
Earlier on March 16, the young and popular Smith died two days after a fight in Australia. Reportedly, he looked ?white as a ghost? as he held an ice pack to his head while sitting in the dressing room. Then, in an all-too familiar and frightening scenario, he began complaining of a severe headache. Someone hollered for an ambulance as he slumped to the floor with his father/trainer Brendon Smith attempting to revive him. Braydon was rushed to Toowoomba Hospital before being airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. After having been put into an induced coma, he was then put on life support. The inevitable end came on Monday when Brayd?s parents made the gut-wrenching decision to turn off his life support machine.
In boxing, the combatants are trained to concuss one another. A fair-haired and frail 23-year-old law student and part-time boxer tragically and sadly found that out over the weekend at the Rumours International Convention Centre in Toowoomba.
?Heaven gained a champion boxer and champion bloke. Gone too soon? ?Kieran Wagstaff
Tagged with: Andrew Lewis, Denis Boystov, Eamonn Magee Jr., Tony Ayala Jr.
