Professional athletes endure so much physical activity that injuries are prone to happen, but none perhaps more dangerous than football —like Damar Hamlin— boxing, and MMA.
Hopping in the ring has proved to be dangerous again, as Nigerian professional boxer Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju passed away over the weekend after collapsing during an eight-round fight, according to the Ghanaian Boxing Authority (GBA).
Olanrewaju, who was 13-8 in his career, was taking on Ghanaian fighter Job Mbanugu, but things turned during the third round. Ringside footage shows the two men throwing and blocking punches from one another until Olanrewaju stumbles backwards before eventually falling into the ropes despite not being hit. He’s eventually able to roll himself over, but by then, the referee has already started the long count.
His team eventually made their way into the ring to check on him, but TMZ reports that he was transported from the Bokum Boxing Arena to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.
“The referee, Richard Amevi, sensing danger, waved his hand for the end of the fight, and immediately invited the ringside physician with the support of paramedics from the national ambulance service to attend to the boxer and help resuscitate him,” the GBA’s statement reads.
The boxing authority said it “is seriously mourning the demise of a potential world beater who was dictating a beautiful fight and all of a sudden … fell into what has been described as an induced coma even though an official cause of death is yet to be made available after autopsy.”
The Nigeria Boxing Board Control general secretary, Remi Aboderin, spoke about the former national and West African champion after his untimely death, telling BBC Africa that he was “fearless” and a “ring warrior.”
“We are really devastated,” Aboderin said. “[This] is not something we envisaged. We will live up to our responsibility and make sure that we stand [by] the family.”
