(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-02 15:18

SEOUL - South Korean boxer Choi Yo-sam, who lapsed into a coma last week defending his World Boxing Organisation intercontinental flyweight title, has been declared brain dead, a hospital official said on Wednesday.

Boxer Choi Yo-sam has his brain waves monitored at a hospital in Seoul January 2, 2008. Choi, who lapsed into a coma last week defending his World Boxing Organisation intercontinental flyweight title, appears to be brain dead, a boxing official said on Wednesday. [Agencies]

Choi, who won the December 25 fight on points, was sent to the canvas just seconds before the end of the 12th and final round by a hard right to the jaw from Indonesian challenger Heri Amol who landed a flurry of punches before the bell.

Choi, 33, staggered to his feet but collapsed shortly after the bout. He left the gymnasium on a stretcher and never regained consciousness. Doctors said he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.

"Doctors have pronounced him brain dead," said a spokesman for the Asan Medical Centre, the Seoul hospital that has been treating Choi.

Choi's family is considering donating his organs, said Han Bo-young, vice president and secretary general of Korea Boxing Commission.

The fight brought back memories of a 1982 title bout in Las Vegas between lightweight champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini of the United States and Kim Duk-koo, where the South Korean challenger died from injuries sustained in the fight.