Welterweight Ed Brown was fatally shot and died on December 4, according to his manager. He was 25 years old.
Cameron Dunkin, Brown?s manager, told ESPN that Brown?s death was not a result of him being involved with gangs or anything related. Brown was shot in the head and a 19-year-old woman who was with Brown was shot in the leg but is described by Dunkin to be in good condition.
"He lost his life at 25 years old for nothing." Dunkin said. "Those people in Chicago shoot you for no reason. It'd be different if he was out there gang banging or running around or dealing drugs. He wasn't doing any of those things. He was such a quiet kid. He was so bashful. You'd never know how tough he was in the ring talking to him outside the ring."
Brown?s life had been marred by incidents inside the city of Chicago. Brown?s mother was one of the 21 victims in the 2003 E2 nightclub stampede when there was mass panic from the use of pepper spray by security guards to break up a fight. Dunkin said he was excited to have signed him back in 2015 and had implored Brown to move to Las Vegas in order to get away from the dangers of Chicago.
"He had a lot of ability and everybody who was around him who worked with him was amazed how good he was," Dunkin said. "When I got him a little over a year-and-half ago, I was very excited to sign him. He was ready to go fast and we were moving him fast. Everybody in boxing who knew him liked Ed Brown. All the guys at the gym loved him. He was so excited about being 20-0 and so excited about being so close to breaking through. He was excited about what he was going to do. He believed and I believed he was going to be a world champion. It's just such a shame, just such a waste of a life."
Brown won all 20 of his professional bouts, most recently winning in Philadelphia on November 11 against Albert Mensah. Brown also had 16 knockout wins to his name.