Shaun Cummins survived a motorcycle crash that should have resulted in his death. The real horror came many years later.
In the early 1990s, Cummins – known as “The Guv’nor” – was a respected name in the British boxing community.
He won the WBA Inter-Continental title, fought for European honors, and shared the ring with solid operators at a time when domestic boxing was full of tough fighters and tough fights.
Then boxing disappeared from his life almost as quickly as it appeared.
Forced to take early retirement
Cummins retired after failing a brain scan in the mid-1990s at the age of 27 and never actually returned to the sport again, although he later tried to gain permission to fight in Ireland.
Like many former players, life after sports became messy and hard.
He worked in security, got involved in bodybuilding and changed jobs before everything changed in 2004, when a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the chest down.
As a result of the accident, he almost died on the spot. Instead, Cummins survived despite the infection and, living in Leicester, spent the following years relying heavily on carers and medical support.
Over the years, Cummins continued to maintain a Facebook page, YouTube channel and Boxing Greats website, and posted regular updates online.
His last Facebook post was on May 1, 2012, just a few months before his death.
This is where the story took a obscure turn that few boxing fans expected.
Survival in the event of an accident and 24/7 care
By 2012, Cummins was largely forgotten by the sport. One of the people helping him with household chores was Thomas Dunkley, later described in court as his “informal guardian”.
When Cummins suddenly disappeared in September of the same year, police finally searched his bungalow and uncovered one of the most disturbing stories ever associated with British boxing.
His body was cut into pieces and hidden in freezers on the property.
Dunkley denied murder and claimed Cummins died naturally in his sleep before he panicked. The jury didn’t believe him.
During the trial, the court heard Dunkley bought a chainsaw and other equipment using Cummins’ bank cards before dismembering the former boxer’s body and placing the remains in multiple freezers in the house.
The court also heard that Dunkley used credit cards, bank accounts and money from Cummins’ trust fund after his death in an attempt to cover up the crime.
Leicestershire Police
The murderer is convicted
He was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years.
The details horrified Britain at the time.
However, many years later, the story seems almost forgotten, despite how shocking it was.
Cummins had already escaped death on the road only in the last years of his life, which ended in paralysis, isolation, dependence, financial exploitation and, ultimately, betrayal in his own home.
Older boxing fans will remember Shaun Cummins as a tough fighter from the elderly school era in the UK. For others, it may be the first time they hear his name in their lives.
Either way, his story remains one of the darkest and most tragic endings any boxer has experienced outside the ring.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Evander Holyfield was unsure who to favour in a fantasy showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and one of his former rivals.
Like Holyfield, Usyk became the consensus top dog at 200lbs before moving up to heavyweight and, once again, cementing himself as the very best.
Even while contending with a notable size disadvantage, the Ukrainian was able to dethrone Anthony Joshua before eventually becoming the undisputed king against Tyson Fury.
Having twice beaten the two Brits, Usyk is now widely regarded as one of the all-time greats, among the likes of HolyfieldMuhammad Ali and Joe Louis.
At the same time, though, Holyfield is not convinced that the unbeaten southpaw would have defeated a prime Mike Tyson.
‘The Real Deal’ fought ‘Iron’ Mike in 1996, causing a sizable upset by stopping the formidable puncher in round 11, before winning their immediate rematch via an infamous third-round disqualification.
And while this was not even the most formidable version of Tyson, Holyfield would nonetheless back his former foe to defeat the majority of heavyweights throughout history.
When it comes to a clash with Usyk, however, the American has told Daily Mail Boxing that he would struggle to predict a winner.
“I don’t exactly know [who would win] that one.”
Like Usyk, Tyson was never the biggest heavyweight but, because of his speed and explosiveness he was able to win his first 19 fights by knockout and become a dominant world champion during the late 1980s.
Usyk, on the other hand, relies more on his technical prowess and, against Tyson, would need to be almost punch-perfect in order to emerge victorious.
Ryan Garcia has named the fighter that he believes can put an end to Shakur Stevenson’s 25-fight undefeated record.
Stevenson stepped up in weight to dominate Teofimo Lopez and claim the WBO super-lightweight title back in Januaryfully intending on returning to his natural lightweight division during the aftermath, until those plans were derailed when he was stripped of his 135lb title.
As a result, Stevenson has kept hold of his 140lb marble but has not fought since, despite links to a showdown with Garcia in spring, which collapsed when the Newark southpaw declared that he would not be willing to move up in weight once again.
Now, Garcia is scheduled to face Conor Benn next month, whilst Stevenson has recently signed with Zuffa Boxing and is searching for an opponent for his second outing of 2026.
Speaking to FightHypeGarcia revealed that he would favour IBF lightweight world champion Raymond Muratalla to come out on top if he and Stevenson collide.
“That would be a good a** fight. He [Muratalla] is smart, he is not going to just go in there and just [be reckless].
“I just think that Raymond has a lot of things that would give Shakur problems. It won’t be an easy fight for Shakur, that is for sure.
“[If it was] a three-round fight, I would give it to Shakur, even a six-round fight. A 12-round fight? I am siding with Muratalla.”
Muratalla is set to vacate his IBF crown and move into the super-lightweight division imminently, with the WBO having recently stated that he could be named as Stevenson’s mandatory challenger when he does.
Robert Garcia, the trainer and manager of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, has expressed his annoyance with a lack of communication from Team Nayoa Inoue.
‘The Monster’ made a seventh successful defence of his undisputed crown in May, unanimously outpointing Junto Nakatani in their all-Japanese encounter.
As a result, Inoue is not only considered the super-bantamweight king but, on a pound-for-pound metric, many would also place him at the top of the tree.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, made his bantamweight debut in June, becoming a three-division world champion by dethroning WBA champion Antonio Vargas with a sixth-round finish.
While there is much talk surrounding a potential clash between Rodriguez and Inoue, it would seem that no official negotiations have actually taken place.
Or at least, it is far from certain that the pair will square off in March 2027, when Inoue is reportedly looking to stage his next outing. He recently stated that he will not hang around at 122lbs waiting for ‘Bam’, and will move on if the fight does not happen in Q1 of 2027.
On the proposed showdown, coach Garcia has told Ring Magazine that he and ‘Bam’ have no problem with the deadline.
“There’s been talk that Inoue says he’s moving up [to featherweight] sooner than later – that he probably won’t wait [for the Rodriguez fight] past March of next year.
“We’re okay with that, but nobody’s told me that. Nobody from Inoue’s team has approached me saying, ‘Look, Robert. This is what Inoue wants. He wants to know if you guys are interested in the fight’.
“Yeah, we’re interested in the fight. But I’m not trying to change the date. I would love Bam to get one more fight at 118[lbs].”
Garcia went on to name WBO bantamweight champion Christian Medina as the ideal opponent for Rodriguez in November, before he hopefully steps up to 122lbs and challenges Inoue.
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