The family of a talented boxer who died nine days after developing a blood clot on his brain during his sixth professional fight have spoken for the first time about their grief.
Michael Norgrove, 31, from Woodford Green, is the first professional boxer to die following a fight in a British ring since 1995.
He died in hospital on April 6 after his fight against Tom Bowen at The Ring in Blackfriars was called off by referee Jeff Hinds.
He subsequently collapsed and was immediately taken to hospital.
His aunt Cindy Norgrove paid tribute to an “absolutely wonderful person,” adding: “He was very considerate and thoughtful. He was lovely looking, but he was lovely inside as well as out. For this young life to be cut short is an absolute tragedy.”
Speaking from her home near Manchester, Ms Norgrove said she and her husband Alan had last seen their nephew last summer, adding: “He was a dedicated boxer. He came to it quite late but he seemed to have a passion for it.”
Michael’s sister Hazel said: “Nobody was expecting this. It was just a shock. We are still very disturbed about what happened.”
His trainer and friend Terry Steward said: “Michael boxed for Repton Boxing Club as an amateur, and after he went professional he had five fights and won them all. He was a very good prospect, he was doing very well and learning fast.
“He was an absolute perfectionist. His first marathon he completed in four hours. Any sport Michael had gone into he could have excelled at, but he was also the nicest man you could ever meet.
“I wasn’t just his trainer, I was also one of his best friends. It’s been very hard the last 12 days, because I thought everything was going to be fine with him as he had started to breathe on his own in hospital and I thought he was going to be alright.
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“What I will always see when I think of Michael is his smile. He was always smiling. Boxing was his life. He loved it. When you are a fighter it’s something that’s instilled in you. It’s a buzz. It’s a passion, and to go into the ring and fight someone you have to have that passion.”
The body governing professional boxing in the UK has said the case demonstrated the inherent danger of the sport and not procedural failing.
