"At 18 years old he had his whole life ahead of him"
Boxing prospect Ali Tazeem, who had been dubbed the “next Amir Khan”, was killed in a car crash.
The 18-year-old was killed after the car he was travelling in hit a wall in Wolverhampton in the early hours of April 17, 2022.
The driver, also aged 18, is in a critical condition in hospital.
His promoter Sam Jones confirmed Ali’s death, posting on Twitter:
“This morning I woke up to the news that Ali Tazeem has passed away at the age of 18.
“I can’t believe it I can’t even process it properly.
“We only spoke yesterday talking about how he was going to light up the pro game, all I can think about is Ali and his lovely family.
“Ali was a bright talented young man.
“At 18 years old he had his whole life ahead of him, Ali was a superstar in the making and while boxing is irrelevant, we will make sure Ali’s name will live on for him and his lovely family.
“Rest easy young champ.”
Eyewitness Ali Zinkal was watching TV when he heard “a huge bang” and then saw the accident.
He said: “I ran out of my flat in my boxer shorts and went over to the car.
“The driver’s head was moving a bit but the passenger was completely still.
“He was only a young kid, wearing tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt and was still holding his mobile phone in one hand.
“At first I was really scared because he looked just like my son who is the same age. It must have been the shock because I really wasn’t sure it wasn’t my son.”
He dialled 999 and woke up his neighbour who turned the car off.
Mr Zinkal added: “I begged them to send an ambulance but it took a long time for them to arrive. It was at least 15 minutes.
“It is so sad to see a young man’s life end like that. The road is a death trap.”
Wolverhampton-born Ali was part of Walsall’s Pound 4 Boxing Academy and had signed a professional contract with Probellum in March 2022.
He had spent the past week training with Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Ali was tipped to have a bright future, winning 15 gold medals from 51 amateur bouts.
Amir Khan visited Ali’s family to pay tribute.
He said: “Went to show my respect for the loss of my dear friend Tee’s son, Ali Tazeem.
“Rip champ, a big loss for in the British Asian boxing community.”
Ali had been dubbed the “next Amir Khan”. After watching Ali win two gold medals at the 2020 Bristol Boxing Cup, Khan said:
“I definitely think he is the next big thing for sure.
“I mean, the skillset he has, the movement, everything really reminds me of myself when I was younger and how I used to fight.
“He will be the next me and make history.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said:
“Our thoughts are with their loved ones and we’ll be offering them support at this terrible time.
“A cordon remains in place while officers from our serious collision investigation unit carry out enquiries to establish exactly what happened.
“We’d ask people not to speculate at this stage but for anyone with information to contact us as soon as possible.
“We’re keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and saw the red Vauxhall Corsa. We’re particularly keen to secure any dashcam footage.”
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