Scottish boxing star Andy Tham dies aged 28 after a collision with a car while he was riding his motorcycle… as tributes flood in for ‘a champion in and out of the ring’
- Tributes have been paid following the death of Scottish boxer Andy Tham, 28
- Tham was crowned Scotland’s featherweight champion last September
- He was involved in an accident on his motorcycle last week and died in hospital
Scottish boxing is experiencing a second tragedy in the space of a few months following the death of Andy Tham.
The 28-year-old died in hospital on Sunday after failing to recover from a collision with a car while riding his motorcycle last week.
Tham, who was part of the St Andrew’s Sporting Club stable, became Scottish featherweight champion last September when he stopped Jack Turner in the sixth round of a thrilling bout at the Braehead Arena on the undercard of the exhibition fight between Ricky Burns and Willie Limond.
Tham, from Cumbernauld, trained at the Kilsyth Golden Gloves gym and made his professional debut in March 2019, competing again before the outbreak of Covid.
The electronic, fire and security engineer, who operated hospital alarm systems during lockdown, returned to the ring in February 2022 and fought five more times, with his last bout for the Celtic featherweight title ending in a points defeat to George Stewart in May.
Scottish boxing star Andy Tham has died in hospital at the age of 28 after a motorcycle accident
Tham was crowned Scottish featherweight champion last year after beating Jack Turner
His death comes not long after the death of Limond, the former British and Commonwealth champion, who died after a suspected attack in April. Tributes were paid to Tham from all corners of the boxing world.
A statement from St Andew’s Sporting Club read: ‘On behalf of the Tham family, St Andrew’s Sporting Club is devastated to confirm the tragic passing of Andy Tham.
“Andy was a champion in the ring and a character outside the ring. It was an honor to have him in our stable throughout his professional boxing career and he will be greatly missed by all of us.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. We ask that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
British and Commonwealth featherweight champion Nathaniel Collins admitted he was ‘exhausted’ after training with Tham recently.
He said: ‘A very, very sad day, one of the good people in life! I was just sparring with him a few weeks ago, hanging back for a while to talk and play with my daughter and talk to everyone in the gym.
‘One of the truly good people you would ever meet. Rest in peace Andy. Damn man, taken too young. Always the good ones.’
Former Scottish super bantamweight champion Joe Ham said: ‘Rest in peace Andy Tham, one of the nicest yet toughest guys in the world.’
His death comes not long after the death of Willie Limond, who died after a suspected attack in April
Nathaniel Collins called him ‘one of the truly good people you would ever meet’
Boxing trainer and sports scientist Andrew Usher paid a personal tribute. He wrote: ‘Devastated to hear of Andy Tham’s passing. One of the nicest people around, and it was an absolute pleasure working with him. He always went above and beyond and was instrumental in helping me complete my boxing research. I will miss him and his Crocs.”
The police investigation into the accident is still ongoing. Sergeant Gemma Blackadder, from the Road Policing Unit in Motherwell, said: “Our thoughts are very much with Andrew’s family and friends at a very difficult time for them.
“The investigation into the full circumstances of this crash continues. If you believe you have any information that could assist our investigation or if you have dashcam footage, please contact 101 quoting incident number 3307 of May 30.”