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Cam Shaw: Boxing champ, 25, mysteriously drowns while snorkeling despite being a 'strong swimmer'

The British boxer was on an organized expedition in Australia at the time of his death on Monday, October 24

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: British boxer Cam Shaw tragically drowned while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. He was just 25 years old.

York-born Cam, an amateur boxing champion, was forced to put his career on hold when the Covid-19 pandemic hit after he won all four of his professional fights. He eventually became a ski instructor in Switzerland and spent this year in New Zealand before taking his girlfriend for a holiday in Australia alongside two friends from England. The boxer was on an organized expedition at the time of his death on Monday, October 24.

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Cam's father Rod Shaw described his son as "a strong swimmer" as the family awaited the results of an investigation. "We don't know exactly what has happened, but we know that Cam has drowned and the investigation is still ongoing," he told York Press. "He was a strong swimmer - I taught him to swim at Water World in York when he was aged two and a half and he reached up to nine out of a possible eleven levels."

"He was a fit lad. He was a professional boxer and fought four fights," the devastated dad continued. "He won them all, but then Covid struck and he had to put it to one side. He went on to become a fully qualified ski instructor in Switzerland and he had just spent a season in New Zealand and he wanted to see one of the seven wonders of the world - the Great Barrier Reef." Rod added, "Cam excelled at everything he did and we didn't realize just how popular he was until now. We have been blown away. We just knew he was a gregarious, helpful, and convivial guy - he threw his all into everything he did."

England Boxing paid tribute after learning of Cam's untimely demise.

“I knew Cam very well and it’s a huge shock. Nobody expects anybody to die at the age of 25,” Billy Wilson, a coach at Shaw’s boxing club, told York Press. “He was a vibrant kid, full of beans, always joking and laughing, he was a good lad, a hard worker, and lived his life to the fullest.” Boxing announcer Phil Seymour tweeted, “He was a lovely lad, very talented with a superb amateur career, but even more so a great attitude to life. RIP.”

"Investigations are underway into the circumstances surrounding his death, however, it is believed non-suspicious," a spokesperson for Queensland Police said in a statement. "Queensland Police will prepare a report for the coroner after the body of a man was located at a reef off Cairns at about midday on Monday." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said, “We are providing consular support to the family of a British man who has died in Australia.”

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In 2018, Cam won the Amateur Boxing Association's Elite 60kg title. The year before that, he won the gold medal at the prestigious Hivdovre Box Cup in Denmark.

Cam also ventured outside of his sport, performing alongside York panto legend Berwick Kaler in the Theatre Royal pantomime. According to The Sun, he also worked as a production engineering assistant at Portakabin before training to become a ski instructor.