US boxer Patrick Day dies aged 27 after suffering brain trauma in title fight

Tributes have poured in for US boxer Patrick Day who has died four days after suffering brain trauma in a KO loss in the tenth round of his USBA super welterweight title fight with Charles Conwell on Saturday.

The fighter, from Freeport on Long Island, New York, was viciously knocked out in the 10th round of the 154lbs contest at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Having been dropped earlier in the fight and with just over a minute gone in the final round, Day was wobbled and rendered defenceless by a lopping right hand behind the ear before being felled with a left that sent him crashing to the canvas.

As he fell, Day’s head bounced hard off the floor on landing, his eyes seemingly glazed over. The knockout was so resounding that fight referee Celestino Ruiz dispensed with the count and Day was immediately rushed to hospital.

He remained there until he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, surrounded by his friends, family and trainer and mentor Joe Higgins.

The boxing and wider combat sports world is currently mourning Day’s death, and a host of fellow fighters have spoken out in support and remembrance of the two-time New York Golden gloves champion and US Olympic alternate.

Lou Di Bella, the fighter’s promoter, said in a statement: “Boxing is what Pat loved to do. It's how he inspired people and it was something that made him feel alive”.

He went on to pay tribute to a “smart guy” who had earned an associate's degree in Food and Nutrition from Nassau Community College and a Bachelor's degree in Health and Wellness from Kaplan University.

“Many people live much longer than Patrick's 27 years, wondering if they made a difference or positively affected their world. This was not the case for Patrick Day when he left us. Rest in peace and power, Pat, with the angels,” Di Bella wrote.

Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, an Instagram follower of Day’s career admitted the death of “a genuinely great soul with an incredible spirit” had got him “f*cked up” and middleweight boxing champ Gennady Golovkin also extended his deepest condolences.

The fight on Saturday formed part of the undercard of Russian Dmitry Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title defence, a show which also featured the heavyweight debut of former cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Bivol recently mourned the death of friend Maxim Dadashev, the tragic Russian light welterweight who lost his life after suffering a stroke during a title eliminator in Maryland. Day was just one year younger than 28-year-old Dadashev.