Brain-damaged teen boxer faces his toughest fight
A TEENAGE boxer who slumped to the ground three rounds into a bout was left brain-damaged and in a wheelchair.
Nathan Davies, 17, collapsed in the third round of the fight and was rushed straight to hospital, where he spent two and a half weeks on life support with a bleed on the brain.
The damage done to his brain means Nathan, from Porthcawl, has lost the use of his limbs and now needs a wheelchair.
Steelworker dad Martin Davies called the experience “worse than a nightmare” after his son’s collapse.
He said: “No-one knows why he collapsed. He wasn’t badly hit, there’s no underlying health problems, but something must have triggered it.
“Seeing your son attached to all those machines – it was a living nightmare.
“Then they showed us his brain scan and our world collapsed.
“He started getting movement in his left arm the other day so we take it one hurdle at a time. And goals like that spur him and us on.”
The youngster had taken to the ring for a bout meant to be step towards national trials when tragedy struck.
But despite not receiving any heavy blows Nathan collapsed in the bout in June last year and was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
His supporters have launched fundraising projects to aid his recovery but say he faces a “tough battle” following his lifesaving surgery.
Former WBU middleweight champion Gary Lockett is one of the teen’s high-profile supporters and has been helping to raise money.
Welshman Mr Lockett said: “Nathan made his amateur debut aged 16. He had two competitive rounds.
“But when the ref broke him and his opponent up in the third Nathan slumped and fell to the ground.
“It turned out he had a blood clot to the brain and he was taken to hospital for an operation.
“He’s got a tough battle ahead and he’s recovering very slowly. We don’t know how good his recovery will be.”
Mr Lockett was in the corner of pro boxer Nick Blackwell during a fight which saw him put into an induced coma following a bout with Chris Eubank Jr last year.
He said it was this experience which prompted him to help Nathan and his family.
A JustGiving page set up by the ex-professional boxer aims to raise £40,000 for the teenager.
To donate to Nathan’s crowdfunding page go to www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/gary-lockett.