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| Hundreds attend funeral of Dundee boxer Mike Towell | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The family of boxer Mike Towell, who died after a televised fight, have said it was a "real comfort" to have his opponent at his funeral. | |
| Welsh fighter Dale Evans was among about 300 people to attend the service at St Andrew's Cathedral in Dundee | |
| Mike Towell, 25, died in hospital on 30 September, a day after being knocked down twice during the bout in Glasgow. | |
| In a statement Towell's family said they attached no blame to his welterweight opponent. | |
| Towell's family asked those attending the funeral to celebrate the life of the boxer, known as "Iron Mike". | |
| Many friends and members of Towell's boxing club arrived at the funeral wearing white T-shirts with a picture of Towell celebrating a win, with "Iron Mike Towell" written on the back. | |
| Others wore hoodies with messages such as "Dundee's champ", "Team Towell" and "the legend lives on". | Others wore hoodies with messages such as "Dundee's champ", "Team Towell" and "the legend lives on". |
| Members of the Stirling gym where Towell trained also wore T-shirts with "1314" on them, in reference to the name of the complex. | Members of the Stirling gym where Towell trained also wore T-shirts with "1314" on them, in reference to the name of the complex. |
| In a statement issued later, Towell's family said: "Today is the hardest day of all for us, the day we realised for sure really that Mike wasn't coming home to us. | |
| "The two weeks since we lost him have been very hard for us to bear, it has seemed almost surreal. | "The two weeks since we lost him have been very hard for us to bear, it has seemed almost surreal. |
| "Yet it has been a time when we have needed the strength of each other and of those around us." | "Yet it has been a time when we have needed the strength of each other and of those around us." |
| The family said it had been a "real comfort" to have Dale Evans at the funeral service. | The family said it had been a "real comfort" to have Dale Evans at the funeral service. |
| The statement said: "He has also been through so much and no fault will ever lie with him, this was just two boys boxing and doing what they loved best." | |
| "Dale is a terrific lad and it has meant so much that he has kept in touch with us so much since the fight. He is in bits and devastated like us all. | "Dale is a terrific lad and it has meant so much that he has kept in touch with us so much since the fight. He is in bits and devastated like us all. |
| "We are thinking about him, we care about him and we would like to thank Dale and all the thousands who have sent messages of support and goodwill since Mike passed. | "We are thinking about him, we care about him and we would like to thank Dale and all the thousands who have sent messages of support and goodwill since Mike passed. |
| "We have lost a son, a partner and a father and we will always mourn him, yet we know we will always smile every day at his memory too." | "We have lost a son, a partner and a father and we will always mourn him, yet we know we will always smile every day at his memory too." |
| Dale Evans, from Carmarthen, later posed for a photograph at a tribute mural to Towell at Dundee Waterfront. | |
| The hearse arrived at the cathedral accompanied by floral tributes reading "daddy" and "Iron Mike". | |
| Undertakers escorted the coffin into the service with a floral crucifix sitting on top. | |
| Dundee sports journalist Jim Spence said the service, conducted by Canon Kevin Golden, was "very emotional." | |
| He said: "It was the city turning out to give its respects to a favoured son who had a great record in boxing. | He said: "It was the city turning out to give its respects to a favoured son who had a great record in boxing. |
| "He had a terrific future ahead of him, so St Andrew's Cathedral was absolutely chockablock. | "He had a terrific future ahead of him, so St Andrew's Cathedral was absolutely chockablock. |
| "He had achieved so much in such a short space of time, but a great tragedy and a great sadness that it was cut short so tragically." | "He had achieved so much in such a short space of time, but a great tragedy and a great sadness that it was cut short so tragically." |
| Money raised at the funeral in lieu of flowers will be donated to the special care baby unit at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital, where Towell spent a week when he was born, and the neurology unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. | Money raised at the funeral in lieu of flowers will be donated to the special care baby unit at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital, where Towell spent a week when he was born, and the neurology unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. |
| Towell was knocked down in the first round of the fight at the Radisson Blu Hotel, before recovering to continue the match. | Towell was knocked down in the first round of the fight at the Radisson Blu Hotel, before recovering to continue the match. |
| Referee Victor Loughlin stopped the fight in the fifth round shortly after Towell was knocked down by Evans for a second time. | Referee Victor Loughlin stopped the fight in the fifth round shortly after Towell was knocked down by Evans for a second time. |
| He received treatment in the ring and was given oxygen before being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher. | He received treatment in the ring and was given oxygen before being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher. |
| In a Facebook post, his partner Chloe Ross later revealed Towell had been suffering from migraines in the weeks before the fight but had dismissed them as pre-fight stress. | |