14 year old kickboxer dies after title fight

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benjo0101

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Jun 13, 2016
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Kickboxer Scott Marsden, 14, dies after title fight in Leeds

Tributes are paid to the teenager, who collapsed during a national kickboxing competition and is remembered as a "true champion".



A 14-year-old kickboxer who collapsed during an English title fight in Leeds has died.


Scott Marsden needed urgent medical attention during the competition on Saturday and was taken to hospital where his condition was described as critical.

Leeds Martial Arts College paid tribute to the "true champion".

"Our deepest condolences & sympathy go to our friends the Marsdens at this terrible time," it said in a statement.

"Scotty will always be in our hearts & our thoughts & we miss you dearly.

"A true champion in every way who's energy & positivity affected everyone he met.

"Rest now Scotty lad."

The teenager had been kickboxing since the age of four and was a pupil at Forge Valley secondary school in Sheffield.

He was a member of Marsden's All Styles Kickboxing, which has set up a JustGiving page to raise money for the youngster's family.

Charlotte Rowlett, who set up the site, said: "Everything Scotty did he did with passion and a confidence that was a pleasure to behold.

"He was the most wonderful, talented boy and the loss of him will leave a hole in so many people's lives.

"Scott was not only a kick boxer though, he is a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin and a friend."

On the night of the contest, Marden's All Styles Kickboxing described on Facebook how the fight came to be stopped.

"Unfortunately, (Saturday) night's English title fight had to be stopped due to Scotty needing immediate medical attention," the club wrote.

It continued: "There was no way to foresee the fight ending in such a way as at no point were either ever in any overwhelming danger from each other.

"Everyone is still in shock as there were simply no signs to suggest the fight needed to be stopped.

"The referee stepped in to protect Scott as soon as he could, which meant Scott did not hit the canvas and was laid down and straight into recovery position."

Police are investigating the circumstances of his death, but have said they are not treating it as suspicious.

World Kickboxing Association (WKA) England president Jon Green posted on Facebook: "Not just WKA but the world of kickboxing is mourning such a well-loved and respected fighter and sportsman."

'Champion' kickboxer, 14, dies after title fight


Sounds horrendous. Really bad. Hope the family is OK and they review the medical procedures for these type of events with kids of this age.

Laid straight into the recovery position, sheesh...
 

Onetrickpony

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Nov 21, 2016
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That is brutal. I don't know how a mother and father are able to get over something like that happening.

I have no idea how I would react if my son died in front of me like that and I'm not sure I could move on with my life without depression or rage eating me up inside.
 
M

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I don't know how (and I firmly do not condone) kids of that age being allowed to fight in combat sports professionally... 18 and up.

Leigh @Leigh I have been told that in England, there are more teenaged boxers and MMA fighters allowed, not sure if that is accurate information, but do you know the age requirement of licensing there currently?
 

The EZ Life

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Aug 6, 2015
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I don't know how (and I firmly do not condone) kids of that age being allowed to fight in combat sports professionally... 18 and up.
I'm with you there, if you're under 18 you shouldn't be pro and fighting should always involve headgear.... which it does in non pro fights if I'm not mistaken.


The only grey area really is that some people under 18 are so freaking good that if they don't go pro they will just destroy kids their age and possibly hurt them ....
 
M

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I'm with you there, if you're under 18 you shouldn't be pro and fighting should always involve headgear.... which it does in non pro fights if I'm not mistaken.


The only grey area really is that some people under 18 are so freaking good that if they don't go pro they will just destroy kids their age and possibly hurt them ....
Amateur fights here in Florida require headgear and shin pads, some jiu jitsu tournaments also include Combat BJJ/MMA which doesn't allow head strikes and stops after a fighter gets dropped...... But at no point do I feel any child should be fighting professional. Hell even when I was running a BJJ tournament, I felt that there should be no child under the age of 7 competing. I had a dad one time bring his 3 year old to a tournament and signed him up, put him in a gator pad (one of those full chest protectors stunt guys used when doing extreme high falls) and what looked like a 1940's football helmet. He tried to argue with me that the doctors said that it was ok for his kid if he was wearing this stuff.... I did not let that kid compete for his own safety (Kid weighed 35 pounds, made almost 50 with all that gear on).

Even if the kid is THAT good, have him still compete in Ammy matches with the protective gear.... The only time I was ok with the exception was when I saw this 16 year old who was 6'5" and weighed close to 300 (but an athletic 300, not McDonald's 300).... He fought a mid 20 year old guy who was 5'11" and 225..... The 16 year old knocked that dude clean out..... ONLY exception I've ever been good with.
 

Leigh

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Jan 26, 2015
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I don't know how (and I firmly do not condone) kids of that age being allowed to fight in combat sports professionally... 18 and up.

Leigh @Leigh I have been told that in England, there are more teenaged boxers and MMA fighters allowed, not sure if that is accurate information, but do you know the age requirement of licensing there currently?
Not sure about professional but kids can fight full contact at almost any age.
 

Onetrickpony

Stay gold
Nov 21, 2016
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Amateur fights here in Florida require headgear and shin pads, some jiu jitsu tournaments also include Combat BJJ/MMA which doesn't allow head strikes and stops after a fighter gets dropped...... But at no point do I feel any child should be fighting professional. Hell even when I was running a BJJ tournament, I felt that there should be no child under the age of 7 competing. I had a dad one time bring his 3 year old to a tournament and signed him up, put him in a gator pad (one of those full chest protectors stunt guys used when doing extreme high falls) and what looked like a 1940's football helmet. He tried to argue with me that the doctors said that it was ok for his kid if he was wearing this stuff.... I did not let that kid compete for his own safety (Kid weighed 35 pounds, made almost 50 with all that gear on).

Even if the kid is THAT good, have him still compete in Ammy matches with the protective gear.... The only time I was ok with the exception was when I saw this 16 year old who was 6'5" and weighed close to 300 (but an athletic 300, not McDonald's 300).... He fought a mid 20 year old guy who was 5'11" and 225..... The 16 year old knocked that dude clean out..... ONLY exception I've ever been good with.
A 16 year old who is 6'5 and 300? Holy Fuck. I really think all the growth hormones and steroids that get put into food are changing the course of human development. 20 years ago you would never see someone that big now it's not that uncommon. It will be crazy to see what will happen when gene manipulation becomes available to the rich.
 

The EZ Life

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Aug 6, 2015
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Amateur fights here in Florida require headgear and shin pads, some jiu jitsu tournaments also include Combat BJJ/MMA which doesn't allow head strikes and stops after a fighter gets dropped...... But at no point do I feel any child should be fighting professional. Hell even when I was running a BJJ tournament, I felt that there should be no child under the age of 7 competing. I had a dad one time bring his 3 year old to a tournament and signed him up, put him in a gator pad (one of those full chest protectors stunt guys used when doing extreme high falls) and what looked like a 1940's football helmet. He tried to argue with me that the doctors said that it was ok for his kid if he was wearing this stuff.... I did not let that kid compete for his own safety (Kid weighed 35 pounds, made almost 50 with all that gear on).

Even if the kid is THAT good, have him still compete in Ammy matches with the protective gear.... The only time I was ok with the exception was when I saw this 16 year old who was 6'5" and weighed close to 300 (but an athletic 300, not McDonald's 300).... He fought a mid 20 year old guy who was 5'11" and 225..... The 16 year old knocked that dude clean out..... ONLY exception I've ever been good with.

Rory went pro at age 16, cuz he was too nasty to fight amateurs. There's special cases where someone is really, really good and can compete professionally before hitting 18, but that shouldn't be a common thing in mma or boxing. Save it for the truly gifted ones , which should be extremely rare


If they're under 18 they should always wear headgear and protect their brain, unless they are that rare exception that goes pro early with parents consent and informed of the risks
 

Haulport

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Jan 17, 2015
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I am not a fan of kids being involved in ammy or pro fights. You need to be physically grown to be doing anything more than training IMO...
 

Filthy

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Jun 28, 2016
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any indication that the death was related to the fight trauma? I had a 16 yo cousin drop dead from a heart attack mowing the lawn. A lot of seemingly healthy kids are diagnosed with heart conditions posthumously.
 

Chromium

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Oct 10, 2016
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^^^This. What killed him? I did a Google News search, and supposedly the collapse wasn't following a blow to the head. One source simply said it wasn't following a blow, period. Also, the ref managed to physically catch him before he fell somehow, so maybe he telegraphed that something was wrong for a couple seconds prior (unless you have an incredibly swift referee). Also, the match happened on Saturday but he didn't die until yesterday. So no idea. Doesn't sound like a heart condition if he died two days later, but no idea.
 

Wild

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Dec 31, 2014
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any indication that the death was related to the fight trauma? I had a 16 yo cousin drop dead from a heart attack mowing the lawn. A lot of seemingly healthy kids are diagnosed with heart conditions posthumously.
That's what I'm trying to figure out but the article is pretty vague. Regardless it's extremely sad. Can't imagine how his family must feel.