Bradley Rone faced off with Ogden's Billy Zumbrun on July 18, 2003, at a Cedar City racetrack, agreeing to the fight at the last minute as a tribute to his mother, who had died the previous day in Cincinnati.

He was going to use the $800 purse to fly to Ohio for his mother's funeral and to help pay funeral costs.

But during the first round, Rone became increasingly short of breath, then collapsed.

An autopsy determined Rone died of idiopathic cardiac arrhythmia, which was caused by exertion during the fight, according to the lawsuit, filed Thursday in 3rd District Court.

Celeste Moss, a sister of Rone, filed the suit against the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission - which regulates unarmed combat sports and operates under the auspices of the Utah Department of Commerce.

The suit, which seeks unspecified damages and compensation for loss of earnings, also names Top Rank Inc., a Las Vegas company that managed Rone and arranged the fight, and FKF Productions, of Salt Lake City, which found boxers to compete in the event.

Richard Weinsoft, director of Utah's athletic commission, said Friday he had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment. A representative of Top Rank did not return a call.

The suit alleges the state athletic commission violated its own rules and was negligent in permitting Rone to fight.

Top Rank and Rone's managers were aware the boxer was unfit to box professionally, the suit contends.

Moss also alleges one or more Top Rank employees provided false or forged medical documents to the California State Athletic Commission in order to get Rone licensed as a pro boxer in that state. Had they not provided those documents, Rone would not have been licensed to box in Utah, the suit alleges.

Rone had been one of Mike Tyson's sparring partners. But at the time of his death, he had lost 26 consecutive boxing matches.

And, carrying 260 pounds on his 5-foot-10-inch frame, he was overweight. Except for a minor shoulder injury, he had no recent health problems, according to a 2003 story in The Salt Lake Tribune.

Following the fatal fight Weinsoft, who attended the Cedar City match, told The Tribune there was no way officials could have foreseen the tragedy. Rone was licensed to box in Utah and he passed his pre-fight physical, he said.

The commission approved Rone for the fight after noting that he had gone the distance against Zumbrun in Salt Lake City three weeks before.

"There were no red flags," Weinsoft said after the fight. "Safety is always the No. 1 concern. If the doctor had seen something, he would have alerted us immediately and [Rone] wouldn't have fought."

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Tribune reporter Stephen Hunt contributed to this story.

jhill@sltrib.com