‘Nobody’s to blame.. but we need to keep making boxing safer’

TEARFUL HEARN ON TRAGIC DEATH OF USA LIGHT-MIDDLEWEIGHT FOLLOWING KNOCKOUT

EDDIE HEARN broke down in tears as he led the tributes to US boxer Patrick Day.

Day became the fourth fighter in four months to die from injuries suffered in the ring, following his 10th-round knockout defeat by Charles Conwell in Chicago on Saturday.

The light-middleweight, from Freeport, New York, was taken from the ring on a stretcher before being placed in an induced coma in hospital, where he died from his brain injuries on Wednesday, aged 27.

His death follows the loss of Bulgarian featherweight Boris Stanchov in September and Argentine light-welterweight Hugo Santillan and Russian light-welterweight Maxim Dadashev in July.

Hearn promoted the show in Chicago and broke down giving an interview to Youtube channel IFLTV. He said: “I will never forget him coming over to me before the press conference, he was just so excited to be involved. I knew him for 30 seconds and I feel like this about it.

“It’s terrible. You can say it’s boxing, but it is hard to justify. There is nobody to blame, but we need to keep making the sport safer.

“There are so many things we can look at, particularly brain scans. One of the issues is the frequency of scans. You can have a yearly scan but sometimes it doesn’t take into account the fights you’ve had since that scan.”

Day’s promoter Lou Dibella said: “Boxing is what Pat loved to do. He was a son, brother and a good friend to many.”

Fellow boxers in the UK were also swift to send their own heartfelt tributes.

Former world cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew said: “Woke up to truly heart-breaking news that Patrick Day has passed away. So very, very sad. Rest easy champion.”

Former world champion Carl Frampton said: “Another tragic day in our beloved sport.”

And WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford said: “This is a reminder of how dangerous our sport is. It’s what we love to do, but it’s an eye-opener for everyone involved.”

HEARTBREAK Eddie Hearn paid tribute to Patrick Day (above, right) who died following his fight with Charles Conwell