Mystery surrounds death of Australian boxer and Afghanistan war hero who once fought for national heavyweight title after his body is discovered in the Philippines
- Mystery surrounds death of Australian boxer and war veteran Joel Clifton, 29
- Clifton was found dead in hotel room in Manila, cause of death remains unknown
- Clifton served in Afghanistan in 2012 and was left with crippling war injuries
Mystery surrounds the death of Australian boxer and Afghanistan war hero Joel Clifton after his body was discovered in the Philippines.
Joel Clifton defied the odds, recovering from crippling war injuries to go on to compete for the Australian heavyweight title in 2016.
He was found dead in his hotel room during a holiday in Manila on November 30.
His body was flown back to Brisbane this week but his cause of death still remains a mystery.
Mystery surrounds the death of Australian boxer and Afghanistan war hero Joel Clifton (pictured) after his body was discovered in the Philippines
Joel Clifton defied the odds, recovering from crippling war injuries to go on to compete for the Australian heavyweight title in 2016 (pictured: Joel Clifton)
He was found dead in his hotel room during a holiday in Manila on November 30 (pictured: Joel Clifton and girlfriend Sam Clark)
Clifton was formerly a soldier in the Australian army and was deployed to serve in Afghanistan in 2012.
While in the army Clifton incurred serious damage to his hips and after 12 months of agonising pain, underwent two surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.
Following the long rehabilitation process, he decided five years ago to take up his old childhood sport of boxing once more, the Courier Mail reported.
In 2016 he went up against Australian pro boxer Willie Nasio for the Australian heavyweight title.
His family and friends have paid tribute to the boxer.
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Boxing rival Willie Nasio wrote a touching post on Facebook, in which he referred to Clifton as a 'legend'.
Nasio recounted the moment he met Clifton at Brisbane airport.
'I told myself when I meet this guy I will greet him with the words “I’m going to knock you out,' Nasio wrote.
But Clifton surprised him with a big smile and a handshake, and the words 'Hey Willie, I'm Joel Clifo, nice to meet you bro.'
'There goes my plan to be a tough guy,' Nasio wrote. 'How can you be mean to such a sweet soul like that?'
Boxing rival Willie Nasio wrote a touching post on Facebook, in which he referred to Clifton as a 'legend'
Nasio added Clifton was always a gentleman and will be missed by many
His devastated girlfriend Sam Clark had shared the GoFundMe page, writing 'Help bring my big handsome honey home' (pictured: Joel Clifton and girlfriend Sam Clark)
Nasio added Clifton was always a gentleman and will be missed by many.
A GoFundMe page was set up by Clifton's close family to help cover the costs of flying his body back to Australia.
'The initial cost to fly Joel home from Manila is $18500 and funeral expenses are $11500, these are the initial expenses.
'We wish we could do this on our own but unfortunately we can not,' Clifton's brother wrote.
His devastated girlfriend Sam Clark had shared the GoFundMe page, writing 'Help bring my big handsome honey home.'
Clifton's body has since been flown back to Australia and a funeral service will take place in Bridgeman Downs, Brisbane on Friday.
Clifton's body has since been flown back to Australia and a funeral service will take place in Bridgeman Downs, Brisbane on Friday (pictured: Joel Clifton and girlfriend Sam Clark)
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