Former British heavyweight champion Gary Mason has been killed in a cycling accident, an official source confirmed Friday.
Mason, 48, died after the bike he was riding in Wallington, south London, was in collision with a van early Thursday, the source said.
The Metropolitan Police, who did not confirm the name of the victim, said the driver of the van had been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.
"Officers were alerted at about 6.15am yesterday to a van in collision with a bicycle on Sandy Lane South, near the junction with Woodcote Road, Wallington," a police spokesman said.
"The cyclist, aged 48 years, was pronounced dead at the scene."
Jamaican-born Mason was known as a durable, heavy-hitting fighter with a a strong chin. He fought 38 professional bouts between 1984 to 1994, losing only one – a seven-round stoppage against Lennox Lewis at Wembley Arena in 1991.
After retiring from boxing, Mason tried his hand at rugby league, playing a handful of matches for London Crusaders but failing to establish himself.
