Boxing fan killed as brawl breaks out at ringside

A 19-YEAR-OLD man thought to have been stabbed in the neck during a fight outside a boxing venue has died, police said.

Detectives with West Midlands Police have now launched a murder investigation. Officers at the scene initially described “large-scale disorder”, which erupted during the event at Walsall Town Hall on Saturday night, leaving the young man in critical condition and several others injured.

A police statement read: “Walsall disorder update – the injured teen has sadly passed away. This is now a murder inquiry. Our thought are with family and friends.”

People inside the venue described how a “skirmish” was sparked off while the bout was under way, after hundreds of spectators had gathered for the headline IBF Youth Lightweight Title fight. However, serious violence then erupted outside the West Midlands venue, just before midnight, after security staff had ejected a number of people outside following the initial fracas. A police cordon was put up and then expanded to including surrounding streets, while forensics investigations continued. Officers have been speaking to witnesses and CCTV is being studied. Several hundred spectators had turned up to see The World Awaits event’s main contest between Luke Paddock, a local prospect, and Myron Mills, from Derby.

One person at the venue, who asked not to be named, said: “Tensions had been high throughout the fight.

“There were two sets of fans, obviously one supporting Paddock and the other supporting Mills, and they were sat in different sections of the arena.

“Beer was being thrown throughout the fight and there was a lot of shouting between both sides.”

Det Insp Ian Wilkins, of West Midlands Police, said: “We have widened our cordon… to search for discarded weapons and any other evidence that can lead us to those involved.”