"I sent my child to a boxing club and got him back in a coffin": Parents of Amit, killed during training, demand answers

Amit Ratzabi, a 16-year-old from Herzliya, was an outstanding student, a boxer, and a beloved teenager. In a recent civil lawsuit filed at the Tel Aviv District Court through attorney Karmi Bustanai, Amit’s family demands answers and compensation from the boxer who attacked him, the coach who managed the boxing club, and the insurance company covering the venue’s activities.

The family claims this was a case of gross negligence that led to their son’s death, a death that occurred in a place meant to be safe, professional, and educational. No defense has yet been submitted.

Amit studied at Ramot Yam School in Michmoret and had trained for years at a boxing club in Herzliya with his younger brother. During the war, the family moved him to a club in the Sharon area, closer to the Mevo’ot Yam boarding school where Amit studied, but too far in terms of oversight. "There were dozens of trainees there every evening," Yaniv describes. "One coach. No cameras. No defibrillator. No oversight. No division by age or weight. A professional boxer was sent to fight a 16-year-old kid. How could this happen?"

According to Yaniv, the coach allowed the fatal confrontation without instructing Amit to use proper protective gear, not even his helmet. Amit tried to defend himself with just two small pads. He collapsed on the spot, lost consciousness, was diagnosed at the hospital with severe brain edema and hemorrhage, and never regained consciousness. For six days, his parents held his hand until his death was declared at Rambam Hospital.

Yaniv and Tamara, Amit’s parents, decided to donate his organs. His heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver were transplanted, saving lives. "We receive letters from the recipients," Yaniv shares, and Tamara adds, "A 17-year-old girl who received a kidney, a man who lived with an oxygen tank his whole life – they wrote to us that they’re alive because of him. We’re happy for them but can’t meet them right now. It’s hard for us. Very hard."

Tamara, a healthy lifestyle coach, says her world stopped after the incident. She stopped leaving the house, lost interest in life, and sank into deep grief. Now, she runs a health club in Herzliya called Amit’s Protein in his memory, managing it for two hours daily with her remaining strength to honor his legacy and continue his good deeds by helping others. When asked if there were any organs they’d refuse to donate, they immediately replied, "Anything that can help people and save them: that’s what Amit would have wanted."

For Yaniv, the tragedy isn’t just personal: "Unfortunately, in our country, we always write laws with people’s blood. It’s so unfair. We lost a child here, a 16-year-old who was training at a club – not riding a motorcycle, not taking risks, not on an extreme trip. When you go on a trip and do bungee jumping or cliff diving, there are risks. But you send your child to a Thai boxing club, a club, understand – a club," Yaniv says in anguish, adding, "How do we even get back on our feet after something like this? How is it possible? You’re constantly in the questions, the what, why, how could it have been prevented, why doesn’t anyone check who’s coaching? Who’s fighting? Who’s against whom? A 16-year-old kid faces a world champion, and no one stops it. How does that make sense?"

Yaniv describes his days now as a constant vigil to preserve Amit’s memory. He makes sure to go to synagogue three times a day to recite Kaddish. "That’s where I feel closest to him," he says. "Not at the cemetery – in the synagogue. He was a believing, pure, smiling child. And now I’m fighting for him. So he won’t be forgotten. So he won’t be filed away in some statistic."

Attorney Karmi Bustanai calls it a classic case of clear negligence. The lawsuit seeks compensation for pain and suffering, loss of future earnings, funeral expenses, emotional damage, mental disability, and even punitive damages. "We want to ensure no other child enters a club – and leaves in a coffin," Yaniv says.

"Every parent needs to understand that the next child could be theirs. If we don’t raise public awareness, we’ll pay another heavy, terrible price. We’ve already paid. We paid in blood," Yaniv states, and Tamara concludes: "If because of our tragic case someone wakes up and changes the laws regarding Thai boxing, sharpens safety regulations, and ensures oversight for clubs so no other child gets hurt, then we’ve done our part so our son’s death won’t be in vain."

The owner of the Thai boxing gym declined to comment.

Israel Hayom contributed to this article.