CNN
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British boxer Georgia O’Connor has died aged 25 after a battle with cancer, her promotion company, BOXXER, said on Thursday.
“We are heartbroken by the passing of Georgia O’Connor,” BOXXER wrote on Instagram. “A true warrior inside and outside the ring, the boxing community has lost a talented, courageous and determined young woman far too soon.
“Georgia was loved, respected and admired by her friends here at BOXXER. Our thoughts are with her loved ones at this difficult time.”
O’Connor said on social media last year that she had been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which is defined as “a chronic inflammatory bowel disease in which abnormal reactions of the immune system cause inflammation and ulcers on the inner lining of your large intestine” by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
She described needing to go to the toilet 15 to 20 times a day, as well as suffering “unbearable bowel cramps.” She also wrote that she had become pregnant and suffered a miscarriage.
In January, O’Connor wrote on Instagram that she was diagnosed with cancer after being in “constant pain.”
A fundraising page was set up in O’Connor’s honor by her mother in which she wrote that the cancer was “rare and aggressive” which doctors called “incurable.”
On May 12, O’Connor wrote on Instagram that she had married her partner Adriano and changed her last name to Cardinali.
Ellie Scotney, the super-bantamweight world champion, paid tribute to her long-time friend on Instagram, calling her the “most beautiful human I’ve ever met.”
“I’ve probably rewritten this a hundred times, still not with the right words. Because there just isn’t any,” Scotney said. “Life can be so, so cruel. And it seems to be the best of us that are at the end of that.
“Being a pure soul and a good person gets thrown around so much, but you my friend are the definition of every word of that and so much more. I still can picture that timid shy but larger than life young girl walking on her tip toes a few steps in front of me, little did I know that very same girl was going to show not just me but the whole world how special life is and mostly how to live by every second.
“Even when life was on a timer, you never let anything dim that light of yours. A smile that never ever fades, and a heart that will forever live on in so many ways. There was nothing you couldn’t do, the world at your very feet no matter what room you entered. I was so blessed with not just a friend for 10 years, but a sister for life.”
During her boxing career, O’Connor won gold at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games. She turned professional in 2021 and won all three of her professional bouts. Her last fight came in October 2022.
England Boxing called O’Connor a “hugely talented boxer and much-loved member of the boxing community.”
“Georgia inspired many with her achievements in the ring and her spirit outside of it,” it said in a statement. “Her dedication, passion, and talent made her a role model for young athletes across the country. Georgia’s legacy will live on in the hearts of those she inspired, and she will be deeply missed by all who knew her.”