South African boxer Eppie Pohl had died more than 24 years after losing consciousness during a boxing match, the Beeld newspaper reported today.
Pohl was 18 years old when the incident happened on June 30 1986 in Pretoria. He never regained consciousness.
The report said his mother, Petra, had visited him five times a day in hospital and later in a special care facility for the entire period he was unconscious.
Pohl, who boxed for the South African Defence Force at the time, received colours in boxing for the then Northern Transvaal.
He died in the Life Health Midmed Hospital in Middelburg on Sunday.
In 1988, two years after Pohl was knocked unconscious, the death of junior welterweight boxer Brian Baronet led to huge media coverage.
Baronet died after he was knocked out in a fight with Kenny Vice of the US in Durban.
After his death, the laws on the management of boxing and wrestling were changed to make the sports safer.
