Saturday, January 8, 2011

The nice guy of Boxing, RIP



Former British boxing champion Gary Mason has died in a cycling crash in south London.

Mason, 48, was on his bicycle in Sandy Lane South, Wallington, on Thursday morning when he was involved in a collision with a van.
The retired fighter was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 43-year-old, who was driving a white Vauxhall "combi" van, had stopped at the scene.


Mason fought 38 times as a professional between 1984 and 1994, with 37 wins.
His only defeat was against future world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis at Wembley Arena.
Mason was British champion from January 1989 to March 1991 when he lost to Lewis.

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno said through his agent: "I'm very sorry about his death, particularly the circumstances of how it happened.

"Both of us were plying our trade at an early age and I had a lot of respect for the guy."

Boxing promoter Frank Maloney described Mason as "one of the nice guys of boxing".

"Even if things were going wrong for him, he cheered other people up," he said.

The fight with Lewis ended Mason's career, he added. "One man's career ended and one man's career went forward.
"Gary was a good heavyweight but he was around at the wrong time, with the likes of Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno."

1 comment: