Braydon "Brayd" Smith (22 April 1991 – 16 March 2015) was an Australian

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

boxing prospect who died two days after his final bout. Smith, also known by his nickname 'The Great White' and 'Brayd', was in his final year of law school before his death. He was born in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and trained and managed by his father Brendon Smith.

Professional boxing career

Smith turned professional on 13 March 2011, with a first round stoppage of eight-bout veteran David Smith at the

Gold Coast Convention Centre The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) is located on the Gold Coast Highway in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. The venue was opened on 29 June 2004 at a cost of A$167 million. It is linked by a covered walkway to The S ...

Queensland, Australia Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

. Smith followed up his pro debut with eleven consecutive wins, including garnering the vacant

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

(WBC) Youth Silver Featherweight title in October 2013 in Toowoomba, and defending this title in July 2014 in Toowoomba. Smith's first 10 wins were in Australia. His eleventh professional bout was fought in Royal Square,

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, a third round stoppage of Anshon Pitulay of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, which brought Smith's record to 12-0.

Final bout and death

John Vincent Moralde, a 12-0

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

boxer from

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

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, went up in weight and won the battle of unbeaten fighters by winning a 10-round unanimous points decision over Smith for the vacant World Boxing Council Asian Boxing Council Continental Featherweight title in Toowoomba, Australia, on 14 March 2015. Scoring was 99-91, 98-92, 97-93 for Moralde. After congratulating Moralde in the ring, Smith returned to his dressing room, and subsequently traveled to

Toowoomba Hospital Toowoomba Hospital is a heritage-listed hospital at Pechey Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to . It is colloquially known as Toowoomba Base Hospital. It was added to the Queen ...

where he collapsed into unconsciousness 90 minutes after the bout ended. After being airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital in

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, where he spent two days in a medically induced coma on life support, Smith died on 16 March 2015 at the age of 23. He donated his organs to save the lives of others.

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an independent professional association for Australian physician, doctors and medical school#Medical students, medical students. The association is not a government authority and does not regulate or ...

Queensland President Shaun Rudd stated that the fighter's death showed why boxing should be banned in Australia. Smith's final professional boxing record was 12 wins and one defeat, with 10 knockouts.

Professional boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 12 Wins (10 Knockouts), 1 Loss, 0 Draws , - , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res. , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , , 12-1, , align=left, John Vincent Moralde , , , , , , align=left, , align=left,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Braydon 1991 births 2015 deaths Bantamweight boxers Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing Featherweight boxers Australian male boxers Sportsmen from Queensland 21st-century Australian sportsmen

Professional boxing career

Final bout and death

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links