Teen Who Died Boxing Complained Of Being Ill -- Eastside Athlete Fought In Class Fund-Raiser

REDMOND - Moments before he collapsed and died in a backyard boxing ring, Joe Bolger turned to a friend and said he didn't feel right.

But the 17-year-old Eastlake High School junior, who had complained of heart problems in the past, was determined to finish the last round of a Saturday night boxing match for the "Fight Night" party friends had organized to raise money for the junior class.

The King County Medical Examiner's office said yesterday that more tests were needed before they know exactly why Bolger died. But he suffered no apparent injuries in the fight, they said.

King County Police said they are investigating the death as an accident, but have not made a final decision on whether any charges will be filed. Detectives are looking into whether the match was legal under state law, police said.

The popular teenager's death shattered friends and family and stunned a school that considered Bolger a role model.

Carra Lee Bolger sat yesterday with pictures of her son spread across the kitchen table. The night before she had told Joe, a straight-A student, to be careful if he planned to box.

"There is no one to blame," she said. "God decided it was his time."

Bolger and about 70 other teenagers, mostly from Eastlake High School, had gathered Saturday night at classmate Brian Knudson's home in the Sahalee area east of Lake Sammamish for a night of boxing.

Knudson, a close friend of Bolger, organized the evening of fights as a novelty to raise money for next year's senior party. The event was not sanctioned by the school.

His parents gave permission for the boxing party, they said, because the teenagers were a well-behaved group who took safety precautions, including the use of protective head gear and gloves.

No adults were present when Bolger died about 9 p.m. Brian Knudson's father, Mark Knudson, said he was at work and his wife had left to go grocery shopping.

Brian Knudson was part of a loose-knit group known as the 311's who threw alcohol-free and drug-free parties for classmates. And police said there was no sign of drinking at the boxing party.

Knudson said the idea was to have friends fight three-round bouts and earn money by charging $3 to watch them.

Bolger was athletic and ran track at Eastlake. He also played basketball, baseball and tennis outside of school. He had never boxed, but was always ready to compete, his mother said. And when an 18-year-old friend challenged him Saturday night, the two stepped into the ring, set up on the back lawn.

Witnesses said the fight was spirited, but fair, and that Bolger appeared to be winning.

Shortly after the third round started, the two fell down. Bolger got up, appeared dazed, then collapsed on the grass, his breathing shallow and labored, witnesses said.

One of the partygoers called his father, a volunteer firefighter, who arrived at the house moments later. He was joined by King County paramedics within minutes, but they could not revive Bolger.

His mother said yesterday that her son had periodically complained of heart palpitations and dizziness in the past, usually during physical-education classes, but that a recent check of his heart did not show anything wrong.

Friends, too, said Bolger sometimes had to take a break during physical activity.

But as several of his closest classmates gathered at the Knudson house yesterday, they remembered a friend who was both physically fit and morally sound. Bolger, they said, was a rare kind of teenager whose sincerity and generosity transcended the cliquish world of high school.

The youngest of three brothers, Bolger planned to go to the University of Washington to study either teaching or medicine.

"He really wanted to make a difference in people's lives," his mother said.

His friends said he already had; whether through his work with the Christian youth group Young Life, or just hanging out at his waterfront house on Lake Sammamish letting friends borrow his jet-propelled water ski - but only if they promised to be safe.

"He had everything he wanted," Knudson said. "He could have been spoiled, but he wasn't."