Australian boxer Brayd Smith who lost to Filipino opponent dies

Australian boxer Brayd Smith passes away. Photo from Aus-boxing.com Twitter account.

MANILA, Philippines — Australian boxer Braydon Smith passed away on Monday (Manila time) after suffering head injuries in a loss to Filipino opponent John Moralde. He was 23.

Smith reportedly collapsed hours after his 10-round bout against Moralde at Rumours International in Australia. He was in life support and was reportedly placed into an induced coma when he was in Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.

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James O’Shea, who knew Smith, spoke of one of the young boxer’s goals.

“He really wanted to change the image of boxing,” O’Shea said in an interview with boxingscene.com. “A lot of times in this country the sport gets a bad rap. A goal of his in life was to show people it’s not [a bad sport].

“So many people looked up to him,” he said of Smith.