Mike Towell (12 September 1991 – 30 September 2016) was a Scottish professional boxer from

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Scotland.

Death

On 29 September 2016 Towell fought Dale Evans at the

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Hotel in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

where he suffered head injuries after being TKO'd in the fifth round of the scheduled 12 round fight. Afterwards he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where it was discovered he had serious bleeding to the brain which led to his death on 30 September 2016. It was reported that Towell had stopped sparring a few weeks before the fatal fight due to suffering with crippling migraines. On 12 October 2016, it was confirmed that Towell's funeral would take place at St Andrew's Cathedral in Dundee on 14 October 2016, two weeks after his death.

Reaction

Many members of the Boxing community expressed their condolences on social media following Towell's death. On 1 October 2016, Nathan Cleverly dedicated his WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title fight win against

Jürgen Brähmer Jürgen Brähmer (born 5 October 1978) is a German professional boxer. He is a two-time former light-heavyweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 2009 to 2011, and the WBA (Regular) title from 2013 to 2016. Additionally, he has he ...

to Towell.

Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...

and Kris Carslaw both setup

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pages in the days after Towell's death which had collectively raised £50,347 when pages were closed on 31 October 2016. On 3 October 2016, Dale Evans told

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

how he was "absolutely heartbroken" by the death of Towell as a result of their fight. In March 2017 Evans revealed that meeting Towell's mother had given him the strength to carry on. On 5 October 2016, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced that for 24 hours on 6 October 2016, 100% of the ticket sales revenue to Ricky Burns world title defence fight on 7 October 2016 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow will be donated to the Towell family. At the event Towell was given a ten bell tribute just before Burns fought Kiryl Relikh. On 11 October 2016, Hearn confirmed on Twitter that £3,720 was raised in ticket sales money for the Burns fight and that he would double the money raised bringing a total of £7,440 to pass on to the Towell family. On 6 October 2016, the

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

sent her condolences to Towell's family during her First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament Building in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Towell, Mike 1991 births 2016 deaths Sportspeople from Dundee Scottish male boxers Welterweight boxers Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing Sport deaths in Scotland