The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Iron’ Mike Towell’s son at fundraiser
Charity: Nursery backs bid to buy brain scanner to aid boxers, after Dundee fighter’s death
The son of ‘Iron’ Mike Towell has taken part in a fundraiser to buy a brain scanner in memory of his father, who died six months ago.
Rainbow Bright childcare, of which Mike’s son Rocco is a member, held a superhero and princess day as part of an ongoing campaign to buy a scanner in memory of the 25-year-old boxer.
The Camperdown Street nursery contributed to the £13,000 fundraising drive led by Mike’s partner, Chloe Ross.
The popular boxer died in September after collapsing during a fight in Glasgow. Mike had previously complained of pains in his head and had asked for a brain scan three times.
Chloe said: “Myself and his mum have been so overwhelmed with all the support from everyone.
“We want to start some fundraising ourselves to buy a brain scanner that has recently been introduced, for Dundee and Stirling boxers, two places Michael trained.
“Obviously any opponents can use it too, if needed. These scanners can detect if there is a problem in the head, something we wish was there when Michael was complaining of headaches.
“We want to name this the ‘Iron’ Mike Towell scanner, and at least we can say something good came from the tragedy.”
To donate to Chloe’s fundraiser visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chloe-ross.
There have already been moves to introduce infrared scanners which can detect brain bleeds at boxing matches in the wake of last year’s tragedy.
The British and Irish Boxing Authority (Biba) introduced new scanners at fights this year. It is hoped they will prevent boxers from sustaining permanent brain damage by identifying trauma at an early stage.
The devices can detect damage during the so-called “golden hour” – the 60 minutes after a head injury where prehospital assessment is critical to the future neurological health of a patient.
It is hoped the sport’s long-standing body, the British Boxing Board of Control, will follow in Biba’s footsteps.