Irish Boxer, 28, Dies After Brain Injury in Fight

A 28-year-old Irish boxer has died a week after sustaining a brain injury during a bout, reports the Guardian. John Cooney had been in the ICU for days after being felled in the ninth round of a fight in Belfast against Nathan Howells of Wales. He had undergone surgery for an intercranial hemorrhage but never recovered, per People. Cooney went into the fight as the reigning Celtic super-featherweight champ, a title he had claimed in November 2023, reports Sky Sports. A hand injury had kept him out of the ring until last week's fight.

"It is with complete devastation that we have to announce that after a week of battling for his life, John Cooney has sadly passed away," said promoter MHD Promotions in a joint statement with Cooney's parents and fiancee. "He was a much loved son, brother, and partner and it will take us all a lifetime to forget how special he was." Howells—the other boxer—also posted about Cooney: "I genuinely never wanted for any of this to happen," he wrote on Feb. 3. "Just went out there to box." (More boxing stories.)