(JULY 19, 2003) Last night in Cedar City, Utah, at the Cedar Raceway, Kelly Whaley was to have fought in the main event against Angela Poe, when one fight prior to their fight ended in tragedy. The Whaley team told WBAN that the venue could not have been any more perfect and it was going very well up to the point of a heavyweight bout between Billy Zumbrun of Ogden who fought the ill-fated Brad Rone of Las Vegas.
With only about five seconds left in the first round, Zumbrun had delivered a body blow to the kidney, and that shortly after the bell range, Rone fell to the canvas. Rone was taken to Valley View Medical Center, where he was declared dead. The cause of death is unknown, but it has been speculated that it could have been heart related. An autopsy will be performed by the Salt Lake City Medical Examiner’s Office.
An ironic twist of fate in this heavyweight match was that Rone had taken the fight to help pay for his mother’s funeral, after she passed away last Thursday…
Background and final Tribute to Brad Rone
Brad Rone was born on September 30, 1968. Brad was a veteran boxer out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and did not have much success inside the ring, losing 26 pro fights in a row. Rone had been banned from fighting in Nevada for three years, being suspended in 2000. Rone’s professional boxing record was 7-43-3 (2KO). Regardless of his record, Rone loved to box and he fought some of the best in the sport and did very well with some of them despite losing to many of them. .
Marc Ratner, the Nevada Boxing Commissioner who is highly respected felt that Rone was going to injured if he continued to box. The suspension did not detour him though, and he fought out of the USA. It was amazing that even though suspended, he was able to fight several times in California, Idaho, Utah, and Texas.
For just a lowly purse of $800, Rone took the risk to fight, driving to Utah to earn money for his mother’s funeral. Rone had taken the fight only hours after learning about his mom’s death.
According to news sources, “Rone was hit by a Zumbrun jab just before the bell to end the first round. He turned around to walk to his corner when he collapsed, dying instantly. ” Later when he was autopsied they determined that Rone had died of a heart attack, not a blow from Zumbrun.
On July 25, 2003, both Rone and his mother were buried.
Published on WBAN.