Funeral of teenage boxer killed in Wolverhampton crash to be held today

Ali Tazeem was the passenger in a car which hit a wall off Merridale Road in Chapel Ash on Sunday.

The 18-year-old, who competed internationally in boxing, was killed in the crash.

Pound 4 Pound Boxing Academy in Walsall, which Ali attended, announced that his funeral will be taking place today in Aston Park, Birmingham.

The gym shared a photograph on Facebook of Ali, accompanied with the words: "The Janaza of our beloved brother Haveer Ali Tazeem will be in Aston Park Friday at 5pm.

"You can arrive early. Speeches and talks will take place before hand. Locals are advised not to bring their cars."

Ali's father Toheed Tazeem runs the boxing academy and paid tribute to his son earlier this week describing him as “a beautiful soul”.

More than £10,000 has now been pledged to a fundraising campaign launched by family and friends of Ali in his memory.

Ali, who lived in Wolverhampton, was hailed as the ‘next big thing’ by former world champion Amir Khan.

He also recently trained with Floyd Mayweather Senior at the club in Walsall.

He competed in tournaments around the world and had won more than 16 gold medals, as well as best junior boxer titles, at international competitions.

It had been announced at his last amateur fight in West Bromwich in March that he had signed a deal to become a professional boxer.