Top Amateur Boxer Tony Losey Dies in Tank Accident

By Ryan Maquiñana

Tony Losey, regarded as the third best welterweight in USA Boxing’s national amateur rankings, was tragically killed Tuesday in an industrial accident involving a tank he was refurbishing, The Wichita Eagle reported.

Losey, a subcontractor at a steel plate fabricator in Wichita, Kansas, was standing under a tarp when the accident took place, according to the report. As the 22-year-old sandblasted the estimated 12,000-pound tank, it shifted and fell on him in a rare occurrence, per Wichita police Sgt. John Ryan.

“Sometimes the tanks are so heavy that the supports are not adequate to hold it, and starts to move, the supports can no longer hold it,” Ryan told KSN-TV, which reported that rescue crews arrived on the scene within three minutes, but could not save Losey in time.

Losey, a skilled 152-pound southpaw, had taken major steps toward turning his life around following a 2011 aggravated battery case, for which he was serving a 24-month probation sentence.

Finding refuge in the gym, the Kansan won bronze at the 2013 National Golden Gloves, silver at the USA Boxing National Championships, and even represented the United States in international competition, capturing another bronze medal in St. Petersburg, Russia, last October at the SportAccord World Combat Games.

“Tony’s a good kid, a great kid. I love him like a son, and everyone who knows Tony knows he was getting it together,” his longtime trainer Lewis Hernandez said. “His life was moving forward. He was doing good things. Big things were to come from him. It’s just a horrible, horrible thing that happened … It’s still unbelievable.”

Losey is survived by his fiancée and two daughters, per The Wichita Eagle.

Ryan Maquiñana is the Boxing Insider at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and the Editor-in-Chief of Norcalboxing.com. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @RMaq28 or email him at rmaquinana@gmail.com.