A father has spoken of his heartbreak at the loss of his “beautiful son” who died after collapsing during an unsanctioned kickboxing match.
Fifteen-year-old Alex Eastwood collapsed after the third round of a “light contact” kickboxing bout in a ring at a gym in Platt Bridge, Wigan, on 29 June 2024. He was rushed to hospital but had suffered a serious head injury.
His father, Stephen Eastwood, 40, from Liverpool, stayed with Alex at his hospital bedside until he passed away three days later.
Speaking at Bolton Coroner’s Court, he said: “I would just like people to remember him as a wonderful, beautiful son. He was just a lovely, lovely boy. He was a beautiful soul.”
Michael Pemberton, assistant coroner for Manchester (West), has already raised concerns with the government about the safety of children in combat sports.
Alex took up kickboxing aged nine, trained five times a week at Hurricane Combat and Fitness club in Fazakerley, Liverpool, and had a “meteoric” rise in the sport, having competed at high levels.
He had grown to 6ft 7ins, weighed 80kg and had just finished his GCSEs the week before the fight was arranged with another opponent at the gym in Wigan.
The bout was to be the “main event” but was an unofficial or unsanctioned event as it was a charity fundraiser, not a bout to win a title under the main governing body for the sport in the UK, Kickboxing GB.
Alex, who was wearing a headguard, suddenly became unwell after the end of the third and final, two-minute round.
Father-of-three Mr Eastwood said he noticed his son, “not looking right” as he held on to the ropes to make his way back to his corner.
He added: “I have run, dived into the ring under the ropes landed on my back. I have grabbed hold of my son, holding on to him, laid him on the ring.
“At that point, it just turned into a chaotic scene. You had two first aiders in the ring, I was pacing around using profanities and swearing.
“My son’s breathing was like a big bulldog on a sunny day, struggling.
“He did have what seemed like a seizure.
“It felt like a lifetime, sir.”
Paramedics arrived and took the teenager first to hospital in Wigan and then on to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where surgeons were waiting to operate.
But it was discovered he had suffered catastrophic brain damage and bleeding.
Mr Eastwood said he, Alex’s step-mother Nikita, his two siblings and other family spent time with him at the hospital.
His father stayed with him at his bedside until he died on July 2, last year. His organs were donated.
Daniel Wigelsworth, one of Alex’s coaches at Hurricane Combat and Fitness in Liverpool, said he was party to arrangements for the bout Alex took part in, along with Dale Bannister, owner of the TKMA gym in Wigan, which was setting up a charity event.
They arranged the fight with Alex’s opponent, who has not been named, as a “good match up” in terms of weight, age and skill.
The inquest also heard there did not appear to be any definitive rules on the length of rounds and Mr Wigelsworth said the rules are “unclear” with different interpretations of “light contact” rules during bouts, it being left to coaches and referees.
Mr Wigelsworth said he believed Alex’s opponent was a year older than him, but in fact was two years his senior.
The inquest heard competitions, exhibition events and “fight nights” can be put on by individual clubs and independent promoters, and the governing body does not sanction fundraising events.
Gordon Mitchell, director at Kickboxing GB, said the sport has a number of governing bodies that sanction fights but Kickboxing GB is the only one in the UK recognised by Sport England, the body supporting grassroots sport, and the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO), which is itself recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Mr Mitchell said Kickboxing GB would never sanction “light contact” bouts in a boxing ring due to safety reasons and these only take place outside a ring on mats.
He said this is because it is easier to stop a fight on mats, by stepping off the mat, for example, if there is a mismatch.
But he said in a bout in a ring, “you are stuck between the ropes” and reliant on the referee to step in to stop a fight.
“There’s more rules about stopping the fight early, on mats,” Mr Mitchell said.
Adam Korn, a solicitor representing the Eastwood family, said despite these rules, unsanctioned, exhibition or “fight night” bouts are frequently held up and down the country.
Mr Korn said: “Is that a concern to you?”
“Yes,” Mr Mitchell said.
Mr Mitchell said he was aware of one other combat-related child death in the UK.
Earlier this year the coroner wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the government about the lack of regulation of contact sports for children, with no minimum standards or risk management.
The inquest continues on Tuesday morning.
