Culture Secretary asked to review white collar boxing after death in Worcester
Dominic Chapman died aged 26 after taking part in a charity boxing match at Tramps nightclub in Worcester on April 9, 2022.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer will be asked to carry out a review of white collar boxing following the death of a Droitwich man two years ago, an inquest heard.
Dominic Chapman died aged 26 after taking part in a charity boxing match at Tramps nightclub in Worcester on April 9, 2022.
Worcestershire Coroner’s Court has been hearing evidence surrounding Mr Chapman’s death since last week and today heard the verdict of senior coroner David Reid.
Mr Reid said Mr Chapman, a sports content writer, suffered a fatal punch during the second round of his fight with James Bradley.
“That punch caused a catastrophic subdural haematoma, which led to his collapse at the end of the third round,” Mr Reid said.
He said he accepted the opinion of expert witnesses Dr Ramzi Freij and Prof Peter Whitfield that medics at the event, in the ambulance and at the Queen Elizabeth hospital did all they could to save Mr Chapman.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Reid said the punch thrown by Mr Bradley had “not been unlawful in any way, and it was not Dominic’s nor Mr Bradley’s intention that it should have ended in Dominic’s death.”
Mr Reid said he was also satisfied that the match-up between Mr Chapman and Mr Bradley had been a fair one.
But the coroner will be writing to event organisers Ultra Events Ltd with a prevention of future deaths report.
Mr Reid said the weights of fighters Luke Aldington and Chris Bedford had been “falsified” by organisers so they could be pitted against each other.
“It’s no coincidence their weights were changed to be just within the 7kg weight difference limit,” Mr Reid added.
He also said the competitors were “fobbed off” by organiser Sean Eckett when they raised concerns about their weights being wrong on the fight card.
Mr Reid finished by saying: “This inquest had raised wider concerns – boxing is different to many other sports in that competitors are aiming blows at their opponents head and body, and so the risk of significant injury is significant.
“Since 2017 there have been three deaths in Ultra Events Ltd events and yet white collar boxing is unregulated.
“It is not up to myself to offer a view as to whether it should be regulated but I will be writing to the secretary of state for culture, media and sport asking her to review white collar boxing in this country.”