Fighter's death shocks family

Luke Miller (left) won the light-middleweight Muay Thai championship. Jocelin August says the loss of her partner will not deter her from Muay Thai. Photos / Supplied, Alan Gibson

Just months after being crowned a New Zealand champion, a martial arts fighter collapsed in training and died, shocking his family and fellow fighters.

Luke Miller, 30, from Papamoa, reached his career goal in March when he claimed the Thai Boxing Association New Zealand light-middleweight championship.

Last Thursday, he was training with his brother Cohen and two friends when he collapsed on the floor of his mother's garage. Cohen and stepfather Wayne Ratcliffe attempted CPR for 30 minutes, and when an ambulance arrived he was put on a defibrillator.

He never completely recovered, and on Sunday his family turned off his life support machine in Tauranga Hospital. He leaves behind a son, Kalani, aged 5, and partner Jocelin August, who has a 3-year-old daughter, Saphi.

Ms August said Muay Thai required extreme training, and intensive anaerobic exercise, but she never expected it could take such a toll.

She said her partner was getting old to be competing in Muay Thai, but that he was extremely fit.

Mr Ratcliffe, a former boxing champion, said Mr Miller had been struggling with a chest infection, which a doctor had said was "like pneumonia".

"It was a massive heart attack. We tried hard to bring him back ... but he didn't have much of a chance."

Doctors said he would have suffered brain damage from oxygen starvation.

Friends mourned at the family home in Papamoa this week, taking consolation in the fact Mr Miller had claimed his coveted title before he died.

Ms August said that outside the ring he was a loving father who was humble about his success.

"He was hard and scary on the outside but once you got to know him he was a lovable marshmallow on the inside."

In his teens he was a competitive skateboarder, and became a competent surfer after trips to Bali and Hawaii with his father.

After a slow start to his Muay Thai career, with four fights in five years, he joined forces with coach Brent Maharey in Papamoa, and a fighting group called Red Dragons.

"He was getting quite old to fight," Mr Maharey said. "So we thought, let's go for it now before you're 30, let's win this championship - and he did. It's great that he reached that goal and went out on a high."

He said Mr Miller combined a strong, wiry physique - he was 2m tall and weighed 69kg - with great co-ordination and relentless training.

Ms August, also a Muay Thai fighter, said her sudden loss would not deter her from fighting.

"It just makes me want to go even harder. We always said we'd win the championships together."