'Our sons died after fighting in white collar boxing matches - they need to be stopped'

Two dads whose sons died after fighting in white collar boxing matches have called for them to be stopped.

Richard Peck found his son Alastair, 44, dead two days after he entered the ring to raise money for Cancer Research UK in 2017, the Mirror reports. Alastair took part to support the charity because niece Lauren Morgan, three, died of kidney cancer in 2008 and mum Pam Cripps was fighting breast cancer she would die of in 2019, aged 74.

Meanwhile, John Chapman’s son Dominic, 26, died in hospital in April 2022 after collapsing in the ring during a white collar fight at a nightclub. Both dads have now spoken out after another man, international student Jubal Reji Kurian, died after a bout this March.

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They are calling for white collar boxing events - where fighters compete in three rounds of two minutes each - to be banned, with Richard slamming Cancer Research as 'disgraceful' for accepting money from them. All three boxing events were organised by Ultra White Collar Boxing, which gives fighters – often novices – eight weeks of free training before bouts in front of audiences.

UWCB raised cash for a range of charities from 2009 before settling solely on Cancer Research UK, for which it has so far raised £27million, as a 'corporate partner' in 2013. According to the UWCB website, more than 100,000 people have fought in its events since 2009, with fights in over 100 towns and cities.

Alastair's death has been the first associated with UWCB. Speaking about his loss for the first time, dad Richard said: "I believe white collar boxing bouts should be stopped.

"I’m not surprised more people have died since Alastair’s death. People get suckered into these