Toughman contests can be fun to watch, but they can be dangerous -- even deadly for those who enter the ring.

January 30, 2005, a Martins Ferry man died after fighting in a Toughman contest in Dayton, Ohio.

His family told NEWS9 they aren’t against the sport, but they want others to know the dangers.

“Steve wasn't very tall, but he was muscular. He didn't have an ounce of fat on him," said Steve Burress’ mother, Dorothy Topp.

In the best shape of his life -- just 27-years-old -- entering the Toughman ring was something Steve Burress just wanted to do and no one was going to stand in his way.

“He didn't do it for the money. He just wanted to go in and show them that he was tough -- which he was. Anyone in town would tell you he wasn't afraid of anything," said Topp.

After winning a few rounds in a Dayton Toughman competition, Steve went back into the ring. But this time, it was a blow he just couldn't shake.

“He fell off the stool and just went into a coma and he never came back out," said Topp.

Burress was rushed to a Dayton hospital. Topp described seeing her son covered in tubes, lying lifeless in a hospital bed -- brain dead. He wasn’t nearly the tough man she last saw -- or his two kids, Tyler and Taylor remember.

“It hurts the kids. I'm just thankful that I had sense enough not to let her bring them to see him the way he was because I want them to remember him the way he was and how good he was to them," said Topp.

Topp said she isn't against the competitions but thinks all the blows, with no time in between to recover, was the deadly combination for her son.

NEWS9 took those concerns to Toughman organizer Jerry Thomas. Thomas wasn't in charge of the competition Burress died in, but he is well known for similar competitions in West Virginia.

Thomas agreed, rest in between is important.

“We give the fighters plenty of rest we think," said Thomas.

Thomas also said although Toughman competitions are all about amateurs -- not everyone should get in the ring. And that's why they do intense screening.

“We check for medical history. We check for prior experience. They go through a pre-fight physical. They go through an interview process," said Thomas.

Topp doesn't know what could have prevented her son's death. His memory lives on now through family pictures.

Even though it still hurts, his mother hopes if anything, people will learn from his death.

“They need to know that you can die from things like this. Especially if you're not a trained person to know how to protect yourself and protect your head," said Topp.

Thomas said in nearly 30 years of running Toughman competitions, he's never had a fatality in the ring. He credits that to their intense screening process and well-trained referees, who notice warning signs.