22-year old Kenneth Egano participated in his last match on Saturday, June 6th, following a Bantamweight contest between him and fellow Filipino boxer Jason Facularin. Before the announcement was made for the winner, Egano collapsed from apparent injuries he sustained during his bout with Facularin ― later discovered to be a brain hemorrhage, and the boxer was immediately transported to the hospital where he remained in a coma until May 10th. The event was held at the Imus Sports Gymnasium in Imus, Cavite based in The Philippines.
The event Kenneth Egano (7-1, 3 KO’s) and Jason Facularin (4-1, 4 KO’s) participated in was organized by MP Promotions ― which is founded and headed by Manny Pacquiao ― and televised through “Blow by Blow“, a weekly Philippine sports television boxing program. Before Blow by Blow’s eventual collapse in 1999, the television program was noted for featuring Manny Pacquiao as the face of their program prior to his rise to global fame. The program has been revived since 2015 by Pacquiao himself.
Following Egano’s bout with Facularin, the Bantamweight prospect visibly looked disoriented before his eventual collapse in the ring. Though the referee eventually did announce Kenneth Egano to have won his match, Egano was already out of the ring and rushed towards the nearest hospital where Manny Pacquiao reportedly covered all his medical expenses.
Kenneth Egano spent four days in the hospital before the Games and Amusements Board ― the governing body of professional sports in the Philippines ― announced on Wednesday that the fighter had died from a brain hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain).
The news of Egano’s death comes less than a month after Tanzanian Super Lightweight boxer Ibrahim Najum similarly collapsed and died days later following his match on April 23rd. making Kenneth Egano the second boxer to perish in the span of a month.
Though in both cases the boxers were immediately transported to the hospital, it is a disturbing trend to have two boxers die in a short span of time. It is also evident of the dangerous nature that persists in boxing at every level, and the reality that every fighter still faces whenever they step into the ring.
