Gary Mason, British boxer, died from a cycling collision he was , 48.

 Gary Mason was a British boxer who was based in Chatham, Kent  died from a cycling collision he was , 48.. He was born in Jamaica.^[1] Mason fought at the heavyweight level and became the British heavyweight champion in 1989. Mason was a top ten contender, his main strengths being his punching power, heart and physical strength.
Mason died on 6 January 2011 in a cycling accident in South London.

(15 December 1962 – 6 January 2011)

Pro boxing career

Mason fought 38 times as a professional in a career that spanned 10 years from 1984 to 1994, with 37 wins (34 by knockout) and only one loss, that being to Lennox Lewis when he challenged for the European title in 1991. Mason gave Lewis his hardest fight up to that point in his career.
Mason defeated a number of well known heavyweights, including Tyrell Biggs, James Tillis, Lorenzo Boyd, Alfonzo Ratliff, Ricky Parkey, Donnie Long, James Pritchard, Mark Wills, Everett Martin, Louis Pergaud, Hughroy Currie, Terry Armstrong, David Jaco and Jess Harding.
He suffered a detached retina in a bout with Everett Martin in 1990. After a short retirement he staged a comeback, which ended with a TKO loss to Lennox Lewis, which aggravated Mason's eye injury. He would come back once again, but after winning two fights in the U.S. he retired for good.

Rugby career

Mason played three rugby league matches for the London Crusaders (now Harlequins Rugby League) reserve team, scoring a try in his first game although ending up on the losing side against Scarborough Pirates.^[2]

Television appearances

Mason appeared in a special celebrity show of Gladiators that raised money for charity in 1993 which John Fashanu won. Mason also appeared on the panel of the ITV show You Bet!, and the second episode of the first series of GamesMaster in 1992 playing Sonic Blast Man arcade. Mason's home was also one of those featured on the panel show Through the Keyhole. Though the panel were able to ascertain that the property was home to a British boxer, they plumped for its being Lennox Lewis's abode.

Death

On the morning of 6 January 2011 Mason died after being hit by a van in Sandy Lane South, Wallington, South London whilst cycling. He was pronounced dead at the scene.^[3]
Moments after his death was announced boxing promoter Frank Maloney told LBC 97.3fm radio in London "Everyone had the greatest of respect for Gary. When times were bad Gary always had a smile on his face; he's going to be sadly missed by a lot of people.
"He did a lot of great work for charity... he'd always turn up if you phoned him for a charity event. That's the sort of guy he was."

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