A 28-year-old boxer has denied about one week after losing in a professional fight. 

The boxer, according to the Associated Press, is John Cooney.

Cooney's death comes one week after he went up against Nathan Howells in a boxing match for the super-featherweight title.

Cooney lost the fight, but this pales in comparison to what happened in the aftermath of the match.

The details

Boxing, of course, is a contact sport, which means that it comes with a certain amount of danger, and, unfortunately, things went very wrong for Cooney in the ring.

People magazine reports:

Cooney was injured during a British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) Celtic Super Featherweight title fight against boxer Nathan Howells at Belfast’s Ulster Hall on Saturday, Feb. 1. He went down once in the ninth round and was taken to the hospital following the fight, according to the boxer’s BoxRec biography.

It was at the hospital that doctors discovered the full extent of Cooney's injuries, which included an intracranial hemorrhage.

The magazine continues:

At the hospital, it “was discovered that John had an intracranial [hemorrhage] and underwent immediate surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain,” according to a statement from Cooney’s promoter, Mark Dunlop, which Howells shared on Instagram two days after the fight. “John is currently in the intensive care unit,” the Feb. 3 statement read, “and in the the capable hands of the hospital ICU team.”

Doctors worked their best to save Cooney's life, but, unfortunately, they were not able to save him.

"After a week of battling for his life..."

Mark Dunlop, Cooney's boxing promoter, released a statement on Saturday indicating that the worst had indeed happened - that Cooney had lost his life.

Dunlop wrote, "It is with complete devastation that we have to announce that after a week of battling for his life John Conney has sadly passed away."

He continued:

Mr. & Mrs. Cooney and his fiancee Emmaleen would like to thank the staff at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital who have worked tirelessly to save John's life and ofr 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 foget how special he was.

Dunlop concluded his message writing, "RIP John 'The Kid' Cooney."

Devastating to have to release this sad news tonight on behalf of the Cooney family… pic.twitter.com/RyKKAZvQkN

— Mark H Dunlop (@MARKHDUNLOP) February 8, 2025