Pro boxer Georgia O’Connor dies of cancer aged 25 two weeks after marrying ‘love of her life’
Topics: Celebrity, Cancer, Health, Sex and Relationships, Wedding
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/georgiaoconnor_1
Topics: Celebrity, Cancer, Health, Sex and Relationships, Wedding
British boxer Georgia O'Connor, 25, has died just weeks after marrying her fiancé and calling out 'incompetent' healthcare staff who failed to recognise her cancer.
Yesterday (22 May), it was announced that the British sports star had died of cancer in a statement released by her promoter, Boxxer.
They stated: "We are heartbroken by the passing of Georgia O’Connor.
"A true warrior inside and outside the ring, the boxing community has lost a talented, courageous and determined young woman far too soon.
Advert
"Georgia was loved, respected and admired by her friends here at Boxxer. Our thoughts are with her loved ones at this difficult time."
But the tragic news comes just two weeks after her wedding with long-time boyfriend, Adriano Cardinali.
With a picture of their hands with wedding rings, the star posted the news on Instagram along with the caption: "09.05.2025. The day I married the love of my life."
Just before this in February, O'Connor shared a picture of the couple for Cardinali's birthday, and said: "I never in my life thought I would find someone like you.
"Someone with such a pure heart and soul, someone who makes me feel loved every day, someone who would do absolutely anything for me…someone as weird as me."
It came weeks after the boxer tragically revealed in January that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
"For 17 weeks since the start of October, I’ve been in constant pain," she shared on Instagram. "There’s really no easy way to say this, but I have cancer."
She branded the healthcare staff that 'ignored' her pleas for investigation as 'incompetent rats' that 'allowed it to happen' and went on to detail how her health conditions made her 'high risk' for cancer.
The boxer said: "I said from the start I felt it was cancer. I KNEW the risks. I have colitis and PSC, two diseases that dramatically increase the chances of getting it.
"I KNOW how high my risk is and they do too. They always did."
She added: "But not one doctor f***ing listened to me. Not one doctor took me seriously.
"Instead, they dismissed me. They gaslit me, told me it was nothing, made me feel like I was overreacting. They refused to scan me. They refused to investigate. They REFUSED to listen. One even told me that it’s 'all in my head'."
O'Connor claimed that she had 'begged' doctors to run tests on her, but by the time they had, it was too late.
The youngster also made the heartbreaking admission that not only had her cancer spread but doctors found potentially fatal blood clots in her lungs.
"And now? Now the cancer has spread. And if that wasn’t enough, throughout this whole time there’s been BLOOD CLOTS all over my lungs. That ALONE could have killed me instantly."
She added: "They could have done something before it got to this stage. But they didn’t. Because this is the state of the NHS - a broken system that fails young people like me over and over again."
The star was an undefeated boxer since becoming professional in 2021, and won a bronze medal at the 2018 Youth World Championships as an amateur fighter.
A spokesperson for the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued the following statement: “We are very sorry to hear the news about Georgia’s death and offer our sincere condolences to the family.
“We appreciate this a very difficult time, but when and if the family want to raise any concerns with us, we’d urge them to get in touch.”