Boxing trainer Glyn Rhodes urges men to discuss mental health

A boxing trainer has urged men to discuss their mental health after he struggled to come to terms with one of his boxers dying following a fight.

Scott Westgarth died of complications due to a blood clot on the brain after winning the biggest fight of his career in Doncaster in 2018.

Trainer Glyn Rhodes said the impact of his death and then not talking about it had left him in a poor mental state.

Mr Rhodes described the notion that boxers should just "man up" as rubbish.

The Sheffield-based trainer said Westgarth's death at the age of 31 had badly affected him.

"One minute Scott had won the fight and we're in the ring and he's having his hand raised, then, within a few hours, you've got a doctor telling you that Scott's died," he said.

After seeing a psychiatrist, Mr Rhodes was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Following the boxer's death, Mr Rhodes said he had questioned whether he could continue working in the sport, knowing the youngsters he trained could one day "be involved in a tragedy".

But he said he now wanted to encourage other men, especially those involved in the sport, to speak up if they were struggling.

"I thought, you know what, boxing does so much good. It far outweighs the bad, and so I think I will be doing this forever."

Mr Rhodes said more recently two of his friends had taken their own lives.

"I just wished they'd come and spoke to me and said they were struggling," he said.

"It doesn't make you any less of a person, or any less of a boxer, knowing that you've spoke to somebody - your trainer or just someone in the gym. That's the message I want to give out."

An inquest into Scott Westgarth's death heard he was in good spirits after the victory against Dec Spelman and took part in a post-fight interview before complaining of feeling unwell.

Westgarth, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, was seen by a doctor and paramedics before being taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary for checks.

A CT scan revealed a large bleed on the brain and he was transferred to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield where died on 26 February 2018.

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