Dearborn boxer dies after his first pro fight

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A Dearborn family is mourning the loss of an up and coming boxer who died after his first bout.

Family and friends of Hamzah Aljahmi say he started boxing at the age of 14. He continued on as an amateur for the next five years until this past weekend when he made his debut as a professional fighter in Youngstown, Ohio.

A few days later, he passed away.

The 19-year-old fought with a lot of heart in his professional debut. Despite being knocked down three times in the first round, he kept going.

FOX 2: "Did the question come up to end the fight?"

"Yeah, it came up in my mind," says trainer Mohamed Hamood. "He went down early in the round, came back up and won the second half of the first round."

Hamood said the young fighter came back strong in the next few rounds, saying he showed no signs of a health problem.

"Even when he got up knocked down, the referee told him this is mandatory stuff and stepped aside, told him to walk towards me and he walked right at him," Hamood said. "And there were no signs of that type of injury at all."

Everything looked fine until the end of the fight, when Hamzah Aljahmi fell to one knee.

"He just collapsed, that's all," said cousin Ali Aljahmi. "That's all I know."

"It came out of nowhere," Hamood said. "The fight was over when he went down to one knee, he was complaining about a knee injury. That's when the doctor came in to check out his knee, that's when he closed his eyes and they rushed him to the hospital."

Family and friends say he suffered a seizure and then went into a coma. The young fighter passed away on Tuesday.

The family is still waiting for the official report from the medical examiner to the known cause of death, but at this point, they don't believe the fight had anything to do with it.

"He went out doing what he loved and it's unfortunate," said cousin Ali Aljahmi. "But I do want to let everybody know his death was not related to boxing, it was just something that happened. Boxing had no effect on him."

"We all know there was excessive bleeding in the head, that we do know," said Brian Mihtar  Aljahmi's former trainer. "But what caused it, we just don't know."

Loved ones gathered at a funeral home along Michigan Avenue in Dearborn Wednesday evening to mourn the life lost.

"He was a great kid," Hamood said. "One of the kids, honestly, truly that you loved to be with. His smile could light up a room. just a great kid."

There's also been a huge outpouring on social media showing all of his accomplishments as an amateur fighter.

"he was fighting, going to tournaments, coming in second place," Mihtar said. "I think he came in first place a few times , just did an amazing job, and was very talented. very talented."

"Of course it's tough on the mom and dad," said cousin Ali Aljahmi. "They're still in disbelief. you know. He's in a better place."

The family is still waiting for the autopsy report to learn the exact cause of death. Hamzah Aljahmi will be laid to rest on Thursday at the Dearborn Islamic Center, 19500 Ford Road.

The funeral is scheduled to begin at noon, the family says the public is welcome to pay their respects.