Boxer Sheriff Lawal has died at the age of 29 after being knocked out during his professional debut

British boxer Sheriff Lawal has died after suffering a head injury on his professional ring debut. He was 29 years old.

Lawal was performing at the Harrow Leisure Centre Arena in London on Sunday, May 12, when he was struck in the temple, event promoter Warren Boxing Management said in a statement on social media the following day.

"Last night Sheriff Lawal made his debut at a show at Harrow Leisure Centre where our boxer Courtney Bennett was scheduled to fight", the statement read.

"Unfortunately, Sheriff collapsed during the fight and was pronounced dead despite the best efforts of medics".

Warren Boxing Management concluded the statement with condolences to "Lawal's family, friends, coaches and all of Lawal's loved ones during this tragic time".

According to ESPN, Lawal's fight with Portuguese contender Malam Varela was the first fight of the event, and subsequent fights were canceled after Lawal suffered a fatal injury.

The British Boxing Board of Control also released a statement Monday confirming Lawal's death, NBC reported. "The thoughts of everyone involved in boxing in the UK are with them at this difficult time", the council said in a statement.

In 2021, a similar tragedy occurred when 18-year-old boxer Jeanette Zacarias Zapata suffered a traumatic brain injury during a fight with Canadian Marie-Pierre Uhl, according to the Associated Press.

Zapata was cared for by her partner and coach Giovanni Martinez, and a medical team at the stadium transported her to a local hospital where she was placed in a medically induced coma, AP reported.

Her death was announced by event promoter Groupe Yvon Michel in a statement Thursday night. "It is with great sadness and anguish that we learned from a representative of her family that Jeannette Zacarias Zapata passed away this afternoon at 3:45 p.m"., the statement read.