Fighter Safety News
Published reporting on fighter deaths, injuries, medical response and event oversight connects the Fight Medicine Research Institute’s research mission to the consequences fighters and families experience. This section provides brief source-based records and direct access to the original reporting.
These are news and official reporting, not scientific studies. Each summary states only what the linked source reports. The records are a selection: they are not a count of deaths and cannot be used to calculate a rate.
Isaac Johnson: Collapse during a Thai-boxing bout in Cicero
Reporting describes Johnson’s collapse during a Thai-boxing bout at Cicero Stadium in November 2025.
Research connections: Emergency response; Medical event planning.
Shigetoshi Kotari: Death following a 2 August 2025 Tokyo bout
The World Boxing Council announced Kotari’s death in August 2025 following his Tokyo bout.
Research connections: Post-bout monitoring; Emergency planning.
Hiromasa Urakawa: Death following a separate bout on the same Tokyo card
Urakawa died after a separate 2 August 2025 bout at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
Research connections: Emergency planning; Medical safety systems.
Trokon Dousuah: Death following a charity MMA event near Edmonton
CBC reporting described Dousuah’s death following a November 2024 charity MMA event near Edmonton.
A September 2025 investigation update is listed separately from the November 2024 event reporting.
Research connections: Event oversight; Emergency response.
Sherif Lawal: Professional-debut collapse
Lawal died after collapsing during his professional debut in London.
Research connections: Emergency response; Ringside assessment.
Ardi Ndembo: Death after hospitalization following a bout
AS USA reported Ndembo’s death after hospitalization following a boxing bout in Florida.
Research connections: Emergency response; Follow-up after injury.
Kazuki Anaguchi: Death following a December 2023 bout
Japanese reporting states that Anaguchi died on 2 February 2024 after a December 2023 title bout.
On 10 November 2026 the Boxing News Japan page opened from Japan and refused a connection from the United States. The Ring report covers the same death.
Research connections: Post-bout monitoring; Head injury.
Kenneth Egano: Death after collapse following a bout
PhilBoxing reported Egano’s death in May 2023 after he collapsed following a boxing bout.
Research connections: Post-bout assessment; Transfer and follow-up.
Jubal Reji Kurian: June 2024 inquest reporting on a March 2023 death
ITV reported a June 2024 inquest into Kurian’s March 2023 death following a charity boxing match.
The ITV report is dated 25 June 2024 and concerns a death in March 2023.
Research connections: Assessment and emergency response; Event safeguards.
Luis Quiñones: Death after a September 2022 bout in Colombia
BoxingScene reported Quiñones’s death following his September 2022 bout in Barranquilla.
Research connections: Acute head injury; Post-bout monitoring.
Christian Lubenga: Death reported after an MMA bout
Patch reported Lubenga’s death after an MMA bout in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
Research connections: Assessment and follow-up; Emergency readiness.
Hero Tito: Death following hospital treatment after a bout
Indonesian news agency ANTARA reported Tito’s death on 3 March 2022 following hospitalization after a boxing bout.
Research connections: Injury recognition; Clinical transfer.
Justin Thornton: Death following an August 2021 bare-knuckle bout
MMA Fighting reported Thornton’s death on 4 October 2021 following his August BKFC bout.
Research connections: Immediate assessment; Emergency response; Follow-up after injury.
Jeanette Zacarías Zapata: Death following a bout in Canada
The World Boxing Council announced Zapata’s death in September 2021 following a bout in Canada.
Research connections: Acute injury; Clinical transfer; Follow-up.
Rashed Al-Swaisat: Death following the Youth World Championships
The International Boxing Association announced Al-Swaisat’s death following his participation in the 2021 Youth World Championships.
Research connections: Youth participant protection; Emergency response; Oversight.
External physician commentary
“Bare Knuckle Fighter Dies - Doctor Reacts to Justin Thornton Death and Safety of the Sport”, a video by Brian Sutterer MD on YouTube.
This is one physician’s commentary on the death of Justin Thornton. It is not a peer-reviewed study or an autopsy report, and it does not establish the cause of his death. The link opens YouTube; nothing plays on this page.