Female Kickboxer Adrienne Simmons Dies After KO
Fighter Adrienne Simmons died on Monday after being mismatched against a far superior opponent in the Muay Thai lightweight women’s final of the International Kickboxing Federation National Amateur Tournament in Orlando, Fla. She is reportedly the first woman to die from a kickboxing fight.
According to multiple reports, Simmons’ opponent, Lindsay Scheer, controlled the majority of the fight and forced the ref to issue multiple standing eight-counts. Despite being repeatedly knocked around and beaten, Simmons kept going into the third round where she was dropped by a left hook. The blow caused Simmons to lose consciousness, and she eventually slipped into a coma. On Monday it was announced she had died from the injuries.
Fans and officials on scene noted a doctor was on the premises, and this was later confirmed by both Scheer and her trainer, Eric Haycraft. According to Haycraft: “I've been a fighter, coach and trainer in this business for 20 years, and there is always an ambulance at every fight, professional or amateur."
Simmons’ boyfriend, Chike Lindsay-Ajudua, told officials it took over an hour for her to be driven to the hospital. This goes directly against the claim made by the federation’s president Steve Fossum. Fossum has gone on record saying he arranged for an ambulance from a nearby location to be on call for the event.
Many are questioning how and why Scheer and Simmons were pitted against one another in the first place. Scheer is a former Division I soccer player and a veteran of over 20 fights around the world. Simmons, on the other hand, came into the tournament with a 1-3 record and hardly any true fighting experience. Everything from the opening bell to Simmons’ untimely death points to the fact that she should have never been placed in the ring with Scheer.
Simmons is believed to be the first female kickboxer to die as a result of a fight. According to reports via the New York Daily News, her death was ruled an accident by the Orange County coroner.
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was the cause of the match .......
I stopped watching boxing of any sort about 20 years ago when a fighter died of head injuries. There are lots of violent sports , but there are only a few where one of the direct goals to beat your opponent in the head. While the athletes accept the risks, people have a responsibility to not support this kind of risk taking.
My son -in- law has invited me to boxing matches and I refuse. He knows why.
Perhaps it should be mandatory for boxers/kickboxers/extreme hand -to-hand/etc. to become organ donors prior to being licensed in their sports. I also am in favor of forcing states that permit motorcyclists to ride without helmets to require those who refuse to wear them to become organ donors.