CURTIS WOODHOUSE has decided NOT to retire from boxing and will fight again in April.
The former Birmingham and Hull midfielder was left devastated after Scott Westgarth died after a fight on a bill he was headlining.
Big thanks to my manager @StefyBull and thanks to @Dennis_Hobson for giving me the opportunity and platform. On we march @ray_raydoyle @JWHIBBERT
pic.twitter.com/k3kfauR1Lz
— Curtis Woodhouse (@curtiswoodhous8) March 1, 2018
Woodhouse’s Commonwealth title eliminator against John Wayne Hibbert and the rest of the Doncaster Dome show was cancelled when Westgarth felll ill backstage.
In the days following the tragic death, Woodhouse revealed he was considering his future in the sport.
The former British super-lightweight champ told talkSPORT: “It makes you second guess and question everything.
“What we are doing, the morality of it all, how can we justify what we do as a profession and as a sport?
“I am not sure whether I want to even fight again and go through it all again.
“An hour earlier, I was speaking to Scott in the dressing room wishing him the best for the fight and he loses his life that evening. It makes you feel numb.
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“I think we have the best organisation on the planet who regulate (boxing) the best they can.
“You have two trained athletes punching each other in the head. The brain is not made to be punched. They are the facts. It is a brutal way to make a living.
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“People’s lives are at stake. And that is why the abuse fighters get is totally uncalled for and unwarranted.
“Young men put their lives at risk for people’s entertainment. A young man on Saturday night has lost his life chasing a dream.”
But tonight Woodhouse, 37, posted on Twitter that he will return to the ring in April, and hopes to reschedule the Hibbert fight.
He wrote: “Had a great meeting with my manager Stefy Bull today who despite the weekend’s tragedy has been working around the clock to secure me another fight date so all the hard work doesn’t go to waste.
“And I’m delighted to announce I’ll be fighting on April 27 in Sheffield live on free sports Sky channel 424.
“We are hoping we can reschedule the Commonwealth title eliminator with John Wayne Hibbert and are now in talks to hopefully get it over the line.”
A GoFundMe page has now been set up to raise money for Scott’s family.
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