Boxing phenom Georgia Cardinali (Georgia O’Connor), who captured a gold medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games and silver at the 2017 Youth World Championships, passed away at the age of 25 following her battle with cancer.
Cardinali turned pro in 2021 and went on to win her first three fights. On social media, “Geo” revealed she was competing in spite of painful symptoms, later diagnosed as ulcerative colitis — which in turn evolved into an “incurable” form of cancer.
“The past two years I sort of kept it a secret, I didn’t want anyone to find out,” Cardinali told BBC in a video published in April 2024. “I’d made the decision to come out and speak about it because my biggest thing in life is helping other people and showing kids that it doesn’t matter what happens to you, it’s how you react and how you take things on the chin and move forward.”
Cardinali later revealed her cancer diagnosis in a separate social media post, blasting doctors for dismissing her initial symptoms. “Geo” argued that early intervention may have given her a fighting chance.
“There’s really no easy way to say this, but I have cancer,” the late pugilist wrote. “Now that’s out the way, it’s time to expose the absolute incompetent RATS that have allowed this to happen. For 17 weeks since the start of October, I’ve been in constant pain, going back and forth between Durham and Newcastle RVI A&E knowing deep down something was seriously wrong. I said from the start I felt it was cancer.”
“I KNEW the risks. I have colitis and PSC, two diseases that dramatically increase the chances of getting it. I KNOW how high my risk is and they do too. They always did. But not one doctor f*cking listened to me. Not one doctor took me seriously. Not one doctor did the scans or blood tests I begged for whilst crying on the floor in agony. Instead, they dismissed me. They gaslit me, told me it was nothing, made me feel like I was overreacting. They refused to scan me. They refused to investigate. They REFUSED to listen. One even told me that it’s “all in my head.” And now? Now the cancer has spread.”
“And if that wasn’t enough, throughout this whole time there’s been BLOOD CLOTS all over my lungs,” Cardinali continued. “That ALONE could have killed me instantly. They could have done something before it got to this stage. But they didn’t. Because this is the state of the NHS — a broken system that fails young people like me over and over again. A system that makes people suffer, that sends them home in agony, that lets cancer spread whilst the thick, stupid, mindless ‘doctors’ shrug their shoulders. They can say it’s terminal all they want. They can tell me I’m going to die. But after taking 17, SEVENTEEN weeks to even figure out what was wrong with me, why the f*ck should I believe them? I’m young, I’m fit and I am stronger than they’ll ever f*cking understand. Mentally. Physically. Every single way. I’m still smiling and that smile will NEVER fade, no matter what.”
“We’ve already got an amazing oncologist on my case and we’ve made sure I’m going to have the best treatment and healing possible. Starting NOW. F*ck the doctors who failed me. Fuck the system that let this happen. And when I beat this like I’ve beat everything that’s tried to end me before, they’re all going to get what’s f*cking coming to them.”
Cardinali was the youngest boxer to ever join the British team at just 16 years-old. The brawling Brit — who has the surname of O’Connor — married her boyfriend two weeks ago and changed her name to Cardinali.
Check out some of her highlights below:
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