Kenneth Egano, a 22-year-old boxer, has passed away after competing in Manny Pacquiao’s promotion.
Egano who was 7-1 with three wins by KO was facing Jason Facularin (4-1) at the Imus Sports Gymnasium in the Philippines last weekend in an eight-round fight that part of Manny Pacquiao‘s TV show “Blow by Blow”, which features boxers on smaller cards. After a hard-fought battle, when the final bell rang and just before they were set to announce Egano as the winner, he collapsed in his corner.
Video was captured of the incident and after Kenneth Egano collapsed, his team rushed to him and helped him up waiting for someone to bring him a chair. After some time, the 22-year-old was given an oxygen mask and was transported out of the ring via stretcher.
During Egano’s time in the hospital, Pacquiao said he would cover all the medical costs for the boxer.
“There is nothing more precious than human life,” Pacquiao said. “Boxing is truly a dangerous sport and the boxers deserve nothing but respect as they put their lives on the line. Other sports you play, but you don’t play boxing.”
Unfortunately, Egano reportedly fell into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage and passed away just four days later.
After the news went public, Kenneth Egano’s opponent, Jason Facularin took to social media to share a heartfelt message wondering why that happened to the 22-year-old.
“I didn’t expect that this will happen when we did our best. Why did it happen to us? Sorry that it happened. I hope you’re in a good place,” Facularian wrote on social media.
Manny Pacquiao’s Blow by Blow also released a statement following the passing of Egano:
“The whole Blow by Blow family is deeply saddened by the news that one of our beloved fighters, Kenneth Egano, has joined our creator [on Wednesday] afternoon. Kenneth was one of Blow by Blow’s best young pugilists and had a potential to be a future champion.”
Our thoughts go out to Kenneth Egano’s family during this difficult time.
