According to the "Boxing Ring" magazine, on July 28, Beijing time, 44-year-old American heavyweight professional boxer "Bragging Daddy" Morienzo Smith was shot dead in a Restaurant in Houston, when the suspect fired 13 shots at him, resulting in his death on the spot. He was scheduled to play in Colombia next week, but now he has no chance.
Smith is a well-known American professional boxer who began competing in professional boxing in November 2004 with a professional record of 29 wins, 13 losses and 4 draws, and 22 KO opponents.
Smith has won eight consecutive games over the past few months, and in January this year, he defeated Jose Elias Pacheco to win the ABFA (American Boxing Federation) Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.
According to local police notices, Smith accompanied his 28-year-old girlfriend to a restaurant in Houston, USA, to negotiate divorce terms with the woman's 61-year-old husband, and after 20 minutes of talking, the woman's husband left the room.
Soon after, the woman's husband returned with a gun and fired 13 shots at Smith, killing Smith on the spot, but thankfully no one else in the restaurant was injured.
The 61-year-old man drove away after the incident, and when police caught up with him and tried to arrest him, he stepped out of his car and fired a shot at himself in the head. But surprisingly, he did not die, and after being rescued at a local hospital, he now relies on medical equipment to survive.
"Rest in peace, Morinzo Smith. Another senseless shooting took the life of the 44-year-old Houston heavyweight veteran, mourning Smith's family. Like his dad said it's ugly and we need to stop killing. Hall of Fame boxing promoter Lou Dibera wrote on Twitter.
While Smith never reached the pinnacle of boxing, he did play against many of the strongest opponents in his class, including Chris Arera, Adam Kaunaki, Shanon Bridges, Charles Martin and Andy Ruiz Jr.
Although he lost the game against these strong men, he became abfa Atlantic heavyweight and expressed his gratitude on social media earlier this year.
"First of all, I want to thank God for giving me the strength to win this victory. Won my second heavyweight boxing title. Next, I want to thank my friends and family for supporting me every step of my life, supporting my ups and downs," Smith said.
Judging from the police notice, Smith is likely to have appeared in the couple's married life as a third party, but it is not known what the three of them talked about that eventually led to the tragedy.