British boxer Sherif Lawal dies after collapsing in ring during professional fighting debut

British fighter Sherif Lawal died on Sunday evening after collapsing during his first professional match in the United Kingdom.

Lawal was fighting his first major fight at Harrow Leisure Centre, in a suburb northwest of London, when the incident occurred, according to the match’s promoter, Warren Boxing Management. The company offered its condolences to Lawal’s friends and family in a statement posted on social media.

“Unfortunately, during Sherif’s struggle, he collapsed and despite the best efforts of paramedics, he was later pronounced dead,” the statement said.

The British Boxing Board of Control also confirmed Lawal’s death in a statement released on Monday.

“The thoughts of everyone involved in boxing in Britain are with them at this difficult time,” the board said.

Lawal was 29 years old, according to the BBC.

No additional details about Lawal’s death were provided.

In-ring deaths are not an uncommon aspect of boxing, a full-contact combat sport. American boxer Patrick Day died from injuries during a 2019 match in Chicago.

The New York native lost consciousness during the tenth round of the fight and suffered head trauma. Day fell into a coma following brain surgery and never regained consciousness.

His opponent, Olympic boxer Charles Conwell, expressed his remorse in an open letter to Day while he was in a coma.

“I can’t stop thinking about it myself. I prayed for you so many times and shed so many tears because I couldn’t even imagine how my family and friends would feel.” , Conwell wrote.

Earlier that year, the Russian Boxing Federation announced the death of Maxim Dadashev after he was injured during a match in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Trainer Buddy McGirt asked the referee to end the fight after the fighter suffered repeated blows.

Dadashev was hospitalized at UM Prince George’s Hospital with brain swelling shortly after the fight, according to the Associated Press.