British boxer Connor Coghill admits he is still in shock at being forced to retire after suffering a bleed on the brain in a 12th round TKO loss… but claims his final fight was still a career highlight
- Connor Coghill suffered a knockout loss to Hopey Price on October 7
- A scan at the hospital later showed that Coghill had suffered a brain haemorrhage
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British boxer Connor Coghill has admitted he is still in shock at having to end his career after suffering a brain haemorrhage following a fight last month.
Coghill had suffered the first defeat of his career against Hopey Price on October 7 in a featherweight bout for the WBA continental belt.
The Sheffield fight was stopped in a technical knockout in the 12th round, with Coghill knocked down four times in the fight.
Coghill’s trainer Stefy Bull later revealed that he was taken to hospital after suffering from headaches in the days after the fight.
A scan revealed Coghill had suffered a bleed on the brain, with the 28-year-old revealing he was initially told it may need to be drained and part of his skull removed.
Connor Coghill has been forced to retire from boxing after suffering a brain haemorrhage
Coghill suffered the injury during the fight against Hopey Price, but admits the fight was a highlight of his career
Ultimately, he was told that surgery was not necessary and that the bleeding was minimal and under control.
Coghill was later discharged and expected to make a full recovery, but was forced to end his boxing career.
The 28-year-old has admitted that despite being forced to retire, the fight on the Leigh Wood-Josh Warrington card was the highlight of his career.
“I knew I would never box again, but I was grateful that a little kid from a council estate in Hull was fighting on the biggest stage – in front of 20,000 fans on a world title undercard and live on DAZN,” Cogill said in a column for the BBC.
‘That can’t be taken away from me. To end with that, although it is a bitter pill to swallow, I am proud.
‘To be honest, it’s all a bit of a shock and probably hasn’t fully sunk in yet.
‘I’ve never had a headache from boxing. I didn’t cut any water before the fight – in fact I was underweight. There was no hard fighting.
“The way I look at it is it was a freak accident. Nobody caused it. It just happened.’
Coghill praised referee Bob Williams for a ‘great decision’ in stopping the fight in the 12th round
Coghill also praised referee Bob Williams for a ‘great decision’ in stopping the fight in the 12th round, despite the boxer initially believing he should have continued.
After being forced to end his professional career, with a record of 14 wins and one loss from 15 fights, Coghill said he plans to obtain his professional license so he can train boxers.
Bull has launched a fundraising campaign to help support Coghill due to the loss of income due to his retirement.