GALWAY boxer John Cooney has died one week after suffering his first professional defeat to Nathan Howells in Belfast’s Ulster Hall.
Cooney was stopped in round nine of his Celtic super-featherweight title defence against Newport’s Howells. After being placed on the stool and receiving oxygen, Cooney’s condition deteriorated.
The on-site medical team assessed him before he was stretchered out of the ring and taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital. It was later revealed that the 28-year-old had suffered an intracranial haemorrhage and underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.
“It is with complete devastation that we have to announce that after a week of battling for his life John Cooney has sadly passed away,” Mark Dunlop of MHD Promotions said in an earlier statement.
“Mr and Mrs Cooney and his fiancée Emmaleen would like to thank the staff at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital who have worked tirelessly to save John’s life and for everyone who has sent messages of support and prayers.
“He was a much-loved son, brother and partner and it will take us all a lifetime to forget how special he was. RIP John “The Kid” Cooney.”
