James R. Branch

James R. Branch, 22, died of injuries sustained during a bout Sunday, November 5, 1905, with Minor Meriweather Jr., at Annapolis, MD, USA.

The boxers were midshipmen at the US Naval Academy. After the bout, which Midshipman Meriweather testified at his court martial had been fixed, Branch returned to his room, where he took ill. He died. Cause of death was blood clots on the brain. Although run by Queensberry Rules, this was not an officially sanctioned bout, so the cadet officers who participated were reduced in grade. (See the Nov. 23, 1905 New York Times)

Source: Death under the Spotlight: The Manuel Velasquez Boxing Fatality Collection [1]