Latest news with #Olanrewaju
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-African boxing champ Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, 40, dies after collapsing mid-fight
Former African boxing champion Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju is dead after collapsing during a fight. (Getty Images) (PeopleImages via Getty Images) Nigerian boxer Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju, 40, tragically died after collapsing during a fight on Friday. Olanrewaju (13-8-1, 12 KOs) was facing Jon Mbanugu (13-1-1, 12 KOs) in an eight-round light heavyweight bout at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, Ghana. In the third round, Olanrewaju suddenly collapsed backward onto the third of four ring ropes. The fall did not appear to be caused by a punch from Mbanugu. Advertisement After a couple of seconds, Olanrewaju turned 180 degrees while lying on the ring rope and appeared to fall into unconsciousness, with his head facing the canvas, prompting referee Richard Amevi to wave off the count and signal for urgent medical assistance. Olanrewaju was rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where unsuccessful efforts were made to revive him and he was pronounced dead shortly after on Friday. Olanrewaju began his professional boxing career in 2019. He won the Nigerian light heavyweight title in 2021 and also claimed the West African championship in 2023. Olanrewaju entered into his fight with Mbanugu off the back of four consecutive defeats. Advertisement "We are really devastated," Nigeria Boxing Board of Control secretary Remi Aboderin told BBC Sport Africa. "[This] is not something we envisaged. We will live up to our responsibility and make sure that we stand [by] the family." The Ghana Boxing Authority said it will investigate Olanrewaju's death as well as the safety measures in place around the contest itself.
Middle East
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Middle East
OPEN// Nigerian boxer collapses, dies in ring during fight
ABUJA, March 30 (MENA) - A 40-year-old Nigerian boxer, Segun 'Success' Olanrewaju, has died after collapsing during a boxing match in Ghana. The former National and West African light-heavyweight champion, was facing Accra-born John Mbanugu, nicknamed 'Power' in an undercard bout of Ghana's Professional Boxing League, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Sunday. The incident occurred at the Bukom Boxing Arena on Saturday. Olanrewaju suddenly fell to the canvas mid-fight, prompting the referee to immediately call for medical assistance. Medical professionals rushed to the scene but in spite of the attempts to revive him, the boxer was pronounced dead, with reports suggesting he may have suffered cardiac arrest. A video of the fight shared on social media showed both boxers fiercely trading punches before Olanrewaju stumbled and collapsed. This occurred with only 15 seconds left in the third round of their scheduled eight-round bout. (MENA) I S N/R E E
Times of Oman
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Nigeria: Boxer dies after collapsing during fight
A Nigerian professional boxer passed away after collapsing during a fight in Accra, Ghana, local media have reported. Gabriel Oluwasegun "Success" Olanrewaju, a former Nigerian and West African light-heavyweight champion, was fighting Ghanaian boxer Jon Mbanugu in a Ghana Professional Boxing League bout on Saturday. However, he collapsed onto the ropes in the third round — without having received a punch. After receiving first aid in the ring at the Bukom Boxing Arena, he was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes after arrival, the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) confirmed. "Oluwasegun, a few seconds before the end of round 3, stepped back during the fight and leaned on the ropes with his back without any punch whatsoever from his opponent," read a GBA statement on Sunday. "The referee, 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 to help resuscitate him." Was Olanrewaju's fight officially sanctioned? The GBA insisted that Olanrewaju, 40, had been "declared medically fit by the Nigeria Boxing Board Control (NBBC)" and that it had therefore "sanctioned and approved the international contest." However, the NBBC told Nigerian newspaper The Punch on Monday that it hadn't approved the ultimately fatal bout, which was reportedly arranged at short notice after Olanrewaju had been judged too heavy to compete in a scheduled fight on Friday. "[Olanrewaju] got our approval to fight in Ghana, a fight that was proposed to take place on a Friday," NBBC secretary Remi Aboderin told The Punch. "Unfortunately, they did [the] weigh-in on Thursday and he was found to be overweight and they told him the person he was to fight was not his weight." Was Olanrewaju in debt? According to Aboderin, Olanrewaju was on his way back to Nigeria and had reached the border between Ghana and Togo when he decided that he couldn't return home empty-handed due to significant debts he had to pay. "They called the matchmaker, who informed him that there was a fight on Saturday night, but we didn't give him the approval for that," said Aboderin, claiming the GBA got it wrong. "So, he turned back and went back to Ghana because he needed the money; he owed a lot of people money." Babatunde Ojo, one of Olanrewaju's former coaches, told The Punch that he advised the boxer against fighting on short notice. "These are the things I advise my boxers against," he said. "You can't just pick a fight at short notice; you need at least one month. I am very saddened by his loss; may his soul rest in peace." NBBC secretary Aboderin told BBC Sport that Olanrewaju was a "fearless" fighter who died a "ring warrior." He said the federation was "really devastated" by his death and insisted: "We will live up to our responsibility and make sure that we stand [by his] family." Before his bout with Mbanugu, Olanrewaju had an official record of 23 fights, with 13 victories and eight defeats.
