Smoking Gun – James Oyebola Shot

Few fighters cut a more imposing figure than 6-9 former British Heavyweight champion James Oyebola, described as a ‘true gent’ by those who knew him, but the 47 year old is nevertheless fighting for his life having been shot in the face in a seemingly innocuous night club incident yesterday.

The altercation that preceded the shooting appears to have surrounded Oyebola’s request to a group of men to refrain from smoking in the club; smoking in confined public spaces became illegal on July 1st in the UK. A request which appears to have incited the recipient to act under the entirely ludicrous and shameful premise of ‘being disrespected’, an unfortunate theme of the subversive culture precipitating needless crimes like this.

Events like this, whether connected to boxing or not, continue to shock the British public as a rash of gun related events have grabbed the headlines in the past year. Increasingly, guns and knives appear the latest fashion accessory for certain age and social groups and althoughthe media arguably nurture the fear these crimes engender, there is no escaping the cold reality of statistics. This kind of thing is happening more and more.

Gun crime is rising in Britain, and even giant former boxers cannot fend off bullets.

The Times carries a comprehensive article on the story and sadly reports James may already be clinically dead. Click here to read the article.

My thoughts and prayers go to his family.

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