Alex Eastwood’s family hopes kickboxers death won’t be ‘in vain’

The family of a 15-year-old champion kickboxer who died after a bout have said while his death has left them “broken”, they hoped it wouldn’t be “in vain”.

Alex Eastwood, from Fazakerley, Liverpool, collapsed after the third and final two-minute round of a “light contact” kickboxing match against a 17-year-old opponent in Wigan in June 2024. He was taken to hospital but had suffered a serious head injury and died three days later.

Alex’s father Stephen Eastwood and step-mother Nikita vowed to make the sport safer after it came to light he had been competing in an unsanctioned fight.

His father Stephen Eastwood said: “As a family, we’re still broken. I don’t think that will ever go away.

“We’re just trying to do thing right and make change for the people involved in that sport.”

Mr Eastwood said they were hopeful that a recent meeting with Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy, who is also the MP for Wigan, would result in changes being made.

He said: “She was quite positive that something will happen to prevent this from happening again.

“So as a parent, his death isn’t in vain – there’s a lasting legacy for Alex and to protect other people in the sport.”

A recent inquest into Alex’s death found there was no minimum standard of medical aid or proper risk assessments done at events like the one that resulted in his death.

Coroner Michael Pemberton said neither Alex, nor his parents, appreciated the dangers of the “chaotic and somewhat disjointed” approach to children involved in combat sports.

Mrs Eastwood said Alex was “massively failed” by the lack of safety protocols in the organisations he competed and trained with.

“He was just doing his dream, doing what he wanted and pursuing his career,” she said.

“There was nothing to keep that dream fulfilled and sustained within the safety that should have been there for him.”

She said assuming that there were safety protocols in place was “a massive regret” she had.

Mrs Eastwood said: “I encourage other parents to ask the questions – what is my child going into here?”