Brad Rone (September 30, 1968 – July 18, 2003) was a journeyman

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Rone was not an accomplished boxer: He lost 26 professional bouts in a row before dying. Rone died after a fight with Billy Zumbrun, a boxer who had beaten Rone before, and who had become friends with Rone after their first fight. Rone had been banned from fighting in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

for three years. Although he lived in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, commissioner

Marc Ratner Marc Ratner is an American entrepreneur who is the current Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Formerly, he was the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Background Ratner was born ...

, considered one of the most serious and respected figures in boxing, felt Rone was in risk of getting injured every time he boxed, so he denied the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

native a license in 2000. Rone then took to the road to find fights, going as far as

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Despite being banned from Nevada, he fought several times in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, as well as in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. His fights with Zumbrun were in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Usually, when a boxer is banned from fighting in one state of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the suspension carries over to the other states, but in Rone's case, he still managed to get fights on U.S. soil. On July 17, Rone's mother died of a heart attack. Seemingly out of money to fly to Ohio, Rone was offered a fight with Zumbrun in Utah the following day, for a fee of 800 dollars. He accepted, and drove to Utah for the fight. Rone was hit by a Zumbrun jab just before the bell to end the first round. He turned around to walk to his corner when he collapsed, dying instantly. A ringside doctor tried to revive him using

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

, but his efforts were in vain. An autopsy later revealed Rone had died of a heart attack instead of as a consequence of the punch inflicted by Zumbrun. Various theories have been formed after his death: Rone was a large, man who might have inherited a heart condition from his mother. He was distraught by her death and might have been under pressure and distress before the fight. Since he had a losing streak of 26 bouts in a row, the theory that he might have taken too much punishment inside a ring is also credible. Former commissioner Ratner himself said that he would not have allowed Rone to fight. Moreover,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

expressed his feeling that Rone's death showed that a unified national boxing commission was needed, one which would verify boxers' records and whether they are banned from one state or not. Rone's opponent, Zumbrun, told friends that Rone lacked his usual strength.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rone, Brad 1968 births 2003 deaths Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing Boxers from Cincinnati Sports deaths in Utah American male boxers