Ed Brown, Top Boxing Prospect, Dies From Gunshot Wound To Head

By Stephen Gossett in News on Dec 5, 2016 8:26PM

Ed Brown, a top welterweight boxing prospect from the West Side, has died after he was shot on early Saturday morning.

Brown, 25, known in the boxing community as Ed “Bad Boy”Brown, was sitting in a parked car with a 19-year-old woman, identified by family as Brown’s cousin, at about 1 a.m. in East Garfield Park. Another car pulled alongside, and a gunman started firing. The woman was shot in the leg and listed in good condition; Brown was shot multiple times, including in the head. According to the Sun-Times, Brown was on life support by Sunday night, and, by Monday morning, the Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death.

Brown’s co-manager, Mike Cericola, told the paper that said Brown had been at the gym before he and his cousin were shot because he didn’t feel safe doing the running his training required on the streets.

"He lost his life at 25 years old for nothing." Cameron Dunkin, Brown’s manager, said, according to ESPN. "Those people in Chicago shoot you for no reason. It'd be different if he was out there gang banging or running around or dealing drugs. He wasn't doing any of those things. He was such a quiet kid. He was so bashful. You'd never know how tough he was in the ring talking to him outside the ring."

ESPN described Brown as a “fast-rising” “standout amateur.” He had built a perfect record of 20-0 with 16 knockouts.

Brown had endured tragedy and violence during his short life. He survived two previous shootings; his mother was killed in the infamous E2 nightclub stampede in 2003. Dunkin told ESPN that he urged Brown to leave Chicago for Las Vegas. "I told him he had to get out of Chicago. I begged him to get out of Chicago," Dunkin said.

Prominent athletic figures, from within and beyond the boxing world, voiced their condolences and concerns about Chicago gun violence on social media.