Kickboxer, 15, had fought man, 34, week before fatal bout, inquest hears

Independent

2 days ago

A coroner has told an inquest he was 'shocked' that a 15-year-old kickboxer who died after a bout had fought a 34-year-old man the week before.
Alex Eastwood, from Fazakerley, Liverpool, collapsed after the third and final two-minute round of a 'light contact' kickboxing match against a 17-year-old opponent in a ring at a gym in Platt Bridge, Wigan, on June 29 2024.
He was rushed to hospital but had suffered a serious head injury and died three days later.
Unusually, Michael Pemberton, assistant coroner for Manchester (West), ahead of Alex's inquest, which started on Monday, had already raised concerns with the Government in March this year about the safety of children in combat sports and the apparent lack of regulation and safeguarding measures.
Alex took up kickboxing aged nine, trained five times a week and had a 'meteoric' rise in the sport, having competed at high levels, Bolton Coroner's Court heard.
He had grown to 6ft 7in, weighed 80kg and had just finished his GCSEs the week before the fight was arranged with another opponent at the gym in Wigan.
The bout was to be the 'main event' but was an unofficial or unsanctioned event as it was a charity fundraiser, not a title fight under the main governing body for the sport in the UK, Kickboxing GB.
Ian Hollett, who was Alex's coach and chief instructor at the gym where he trained, Hurricane Combat and Fitness in Liverpool, said his club was not affiliated to Kickboxing GB and there were no rules which stated clubs had to be recognised by governing bodies.
Mr Hollett, who said he had more than 30 years' experience in martial arts and was a 16-times world champion, set up his gym in 2011 and currently has around 400 child members.
He said they had only had a safeguarding officer in place since 2024 and this is carried out by a member of the club who happens to be a social worker.
The coroner then asked about a tournament Alex took part in the previous weekend, where he fought a 34-year-old man in a 'light contact' competition.
The event was run by the BCKA (British Chinese Kickboxing Association), a franchise, Mr Hollett said, where Alex fought eight or nine single elimination rounds.
Coroner Mr Pemberton said: 'How do you have a situation where a 15-year-old child faces an adult in a contact sport?'
Mr Hollett said 'discussions' about Alex competing against adults had started with his father and other coaches the previous year.
He continued: 'He had not been beat for two years, he progressed rapidly, it is a customary thing that happens in our sport.'
'That's what worries me,' the coroner replied.
'You have a child fighting an adult. If that happened in the street it would be very serious. How is it acceptable?'
Mr Hollett said: 'He was untouchable, pretty much. He was exceptionally developed physically, technically excellent.'
He said Alex had fought adult opponents earlier in the year and although his own club and gym no longer allow such bouts, only one national body, the International Combat Organisation (ICO), has outlawed the practice.
Mr Hollett added: 'Every other governing body would and has and does allow it.'
The coroner replied: 'I'm quite shocked by that, I have to say. I'm not often shocked.'
Mr Hollett said he was not present for any pre-bout meeting with the two fighters, referee and any other coaches to set the 'ground rules' for how much contact was to be allowed.
The coroner said both Alex and his opponent had won world championship titles, it was the 'main event' of the night and the objective was to win.
He continued: 'But no meeting before to put down ground rules, 'This is just an exhibition match, lads, keep that in mind?''
Mr Hollett said: 'At any competition they are trying to win. The framework is, they are not trying to knock each other out.'
Dale Bannister, event organiser and owner of the TKMA gym where the bout took place, said the 'ground rules' for the match had been agreed between himself and Alex's other coach Daniel Wigelsworth as a 'light contact' fight.
But as Mr Wigelsworth said 'Alex can bang' they agreed to 'let it go a bit' on the understanding neither boxer was allowed to win by a knock-out, or stoppage, that is by fighting the opponent into submission.
Adam Korn, legal counsel representing the Eastwood family, suggested the fight was in a 'grey area' between light and heavier contact allowed.
Mr Bannister said: 'Some are rougher than others. You can see if a fighter is trying to knock someone out.'
Earlier this year the coroner wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Government about the lack of regulation of contact sports for children, with no minimum standards or risk management.
The inquest continues on Wednesday.