Boxer in Title Fight Dies from Injuries, Time for a Ban?

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Boxer Dies

Is it time to finally rid ourselves of theis "sport?"

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By TIM DAHLBERG

(AP) Leavander Johnson, left, takes a right from Jesus Chavez during the 8th round of their IBF...
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LAS VEGAS (AP) - Boxer Leavander Johnson died Thursday from injuries sustained five days earlier in a lightweight title fight with Jesus Chavez.

The 35-year-old died at University Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since being injured in the fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.

A hospital spokeswoman said Johnson was pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m.

Johnson's promoter, Lou DiBella, said Johnson's family members were present when he died. Johnson's father was his trainer and his brother was his manager.

"What a wonderful guy this was. And I've never met anybody so proud or so grateful to achieve his dream," DiBella said. "If there's any solace to be taken in this, it's that he died doing what he loved. He died a champion."

Johnson was put in a medically induced coma after undergoing brain surgery less than an hour after his fight with Chavez. Doctors were initially unsure he would make it through the night, but the next day expressed cautious optimism after tests showed improvement in brain function.

Johnson spent 16 years as a professional fighter before finally winning a version of the 135-pound title in June. But, in his first defense, he took a beating from Chavez before finally being stopped by a flurry of punches in the 11th round.

He walked from the ring, but on the way to the dressing room began showing signs of an injury. He was rushed to UMC, where neurosurgeon William Smith operated on him to relieve pressure from a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain.

"There'll be a lot of people who'll take pokes at boxing for this. We can be better for protecting our athletes. But this was not a situation where anyone failed Leavander Johnson," said DiBella, who knew Johnson for more than 10 years. "It was just God's will. It's a sport that's inherently dangerous."

Dibella said Johnson's father, Bill, said Chavez was "blameless in this tragic situation."

Johnson's death follows the July 2 death of Mexican boxer Martin Sanchez, who died a day after he was knocked out by Rustam Nugaev of Russia in a super lightweight fight in Las Vegas. That death was the fifth in the ring since 1994 in the city.

Before Sanchez died, two other fighters suffered brain injuries but survived after fights this year in Las Vegas.

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I've never considered it a "sport". You don't get brain damaged or killed by participating in a legitimate sport.

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While we're at it, let's ban NASCAR and other car races, football, basketball, soccer, power boat racing, golf, etc.

Hell, the list never ends ... people die in virtually every sport (and I'm using the term loosely so to include golf).

What about ski-diving, mountain climbing, yachting, etc., anything where there is a possibility of death?

And why is this thread in "Politics"?

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In most sports the aim is not to injure or disable your opponent.

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Cock fighting is illegal. At the very least, there should be protective headgear a la Olympic boxing, which begs the question. A good start might be to ban boxing in the Olympics.

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Some like it gory:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1106294,00.html

Monday, Sep. 19, 2005
The New Rules of Fight Club
Kinder but not gentler, ultimate fighting is back and lunging for the mainstream. Are you ready?
By HOWARD CHUA-EOAN

Neither man would give in, so the crowd roared for the fighters to smash each other again: more kicks, punches, stomps, knees and elbows. They obliged. When they got too tired to fight, they would grab each other and crash to the mat of the octagonal ring, grappling, twisting like strange action figures, pressing against the cage's netting. Then they would be back on their feet, catching a breath, calculating advantage, their faces streaked with sweat and gore. Both were bleeders. Weeks before, in a qualifying bout, Forrest Griffin, 26, had suffered a gash above an eye that required so many stitches that few expected him to advance in the contest. He healed in time for this evening's punishment, and as Stephan Bonnar, 28, punched him in the head, Griffin cheekily offered a come-hither smile, turned the other cheek and slammed back.

The Griffin-Bonnar bout, televised live on basic cable earlier this year, offered three 5-min. rounds of compelling intensity. Fight aficionados have buzzed about it online and off ever since. It is also a symbol of a sport's resurrection: what is popularly called ultimate fighting was chased off TV in 1997 and banned by almost every state because of its no-holds-barred, pound-to-pulp violence. Relegated to outlaw arenas, it appeared doomed to languish forever as "human cockfighting," in the words of its critics.

But at a time when boxing has few stars and pro wrestling verges on cartoonish, ultimate fighting has a new appeal and is heading for mainstream entertainment. In June the big show-biz dealmakers at Creative Artists Agency signed up the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a client. A movie project based on the life of a wannabe ultimate-fighting warrior is circulating in Hollywood. On Oct. 3, Spike TV, which is owned by MTV and Viacom and is targeted at men who don't want to grow up, will pit several hours of live ultimate fighting against the choreography of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the USA Network. This is in addition to Spike's airing a second season of the reality series The Ultimate Fighter. The first season was a strategic move in the canny revival of the sport.

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Ticomaya wrote:

And why is this thread in "Politics"?

Because government should control every aspect of our lives, including but not limited to, which sports we can and can not watch or participate in.

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Kickboxing, karate, rugby, football, motorcycle racing.

Let's just get rid of them all. Make chess the national pastime.

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jpinMilwaukee wrote:

Ticomaya wrote:
And why is this thread in "Politics"?

Because government should control every aspect of our lives, including but not limited to, which sports we can and can not watch or participate in.

Oh, yeah ... right. Forgot.

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Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:

Kickboxing, karate, rugby, football, motorcycle racing.

Let's just get rid of them all. Make chess the national pastime.

Forget not tiddlywinks and Chutes & Ladders.

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Boxing is unique in encouraging blows to the head. In fact it is the principal way to win. Football is quoted as another sport that allows damage to brain cells through heading balls. A soccer player heads the ball an average of twice in each game. A boxer can receive 100s of blows to the head in a single bout. It is almost as bad as using a person's head as a football.

http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk/newsdetail.jsp?id=221

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msolga wrote:

Boxing is unique in encouraging blows to the head. In fact it is the principal way to win. Football is quoted as another sport that allows damage to brain cells through heading balls. A soccer player heads the ball an average of twice in each game. A boxer can receive 100s of blows to the head in a single bout. It is almost as bad as using a person's head as a football.

http://www.paulflynnmp.co.uk/newsdetail.jsp?id=221

I was actually thinking about all the fans that have died in riots over the years.

What about professional wrestling? All those chair blows to the head?

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I am staunchly against any ban of boxing.

Fighting, for the majority of history, has been an important and valued skill. It still is today, and the formalized sport of Boxing makes it as safe as possible.

Boxing is anything but barbaric; these guys know exactly what they are getting into when they get in that ring. They know they could be seriously hurt. That's the whole point; it's not just a test of punching strength, but toughness and heart and bravery.

In many ways, two boxers have the ultimate respect for each other; both could be great friends, but during the match, they pledge to respect the other gentleman enough not to hold back, to give him his all.

More people die from Football and other sports than boxing; it isn't as dangerous as people make it out to be.

Cheers

Cycloptichorn

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Hey, Cyclops ... we agree again. <making note>

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Cycloptichorn wrote:

these guys know exactly what they are getting into when they get in that ring. They know they could be seriously hurt. That's the whole point; it's not just a test of punching strength, but toughness and heart and bravery.

Exactly. These are grown men making grown up decisions. Who are we to tell them any differently?

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I don't like Boxing, myself, but I have to agree with Ticomaya and many others. Any time of sport comes with injuries and even death. A little leaguer who was hit in the chest from a pitched ball was killed; a cheerleader was killed while performing stunts. Should we ban all sports?

In Cock fighting the goal is too kill the opponent and also it involves animals who are not capable of consenting, unlike adults who are capable of deciding whether they want to participate in a sport or not.

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Cycloptichorn wrote:

I am staunchly against any ban of boxing.

Fighting, for the majority of history, has been an important and valued skill. It still is today, and the formalized sport of Boxing makes it as safe as possible.

Boxing is anything but barbaric; these guys know exactly what they are getting into when they get in that ring. They know they could be seriously hurt. That's the whole point; it's not just a test of punching strength, but toughness and heart and bravery.

In many ways, two boxers have the ultimate respect for each other; both could be great friends, but during the match, they pledge to respect the other gentleman enough not to hold back, to give him his all.

More people die from Football and other sports than boxing; it isn't as dangerous as people make it out to be.

Cheers

Cycloptichorn

Ditto

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jpinMilwaukee wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
these guys know exactly what they are getting into when they get in that ring. They know they could be seriously hurt. That's the whole point; it's not just a test of punching strength, but toughness and heart and bravery.

Exactly. These are grown men making grown up decisions. Who are we to tell them any differently?

Actually, when I posted that link about the campaign in the UK to ban boxing I'd been looking for more information about injuries caused by the "sport". Then I thought that that perspective might add an extra dimension to this discussion. Yes, I know that it's fairly pointless to try to ban particular sports on the grounds that the participants might seriously injure themselves, or even die as a result. Hey, if someone doesn't mind taking the risk that they might be injured, die or a become semi-vegetable through brain damage, who are we to curb their right to do so? :wink: (You could ban many activities that harm people, not just particular sports, on the grounds that they harm people: smoking, drinking, fast cars, etc, etc, etc, but ...) But I do wonder about folk who gain so much pleasure at watching two grown men attempting to knock each other out & sometimes even dying as a result of their "sport". It seems rather odd etertainment to me. Confused

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jpinMilwaukee wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
these guys know exactly what they are getting into when they get in that ring. They know they could be seriously hurt. That's the whole point; it's not just a test of punching strength, but toughness and heart and bravery.

Exactly. These are grown men making grown up decisions. Who are we to tell them any differently?

There all sorts of activities that are harmful only to those engaging it that is prohibited. Your argument has no merit. That said, I am rather ambivalent about the issue and have enjoyed watching fights in the past. I just cringe when someone is legally beaten to death and question the wisdom of allowing it. Also, a lot of the people involved in it are among the dregs of society.

Quote:

More people die from Football and other sports than boxing; it isn't as dangerous as people make it out to be.

As far as football contact deaths, I would be willing to bet that there are far fewer deaths in football relative to the number of participants than in boxing. I worship Muhammed Ali but look what the "sport" did to him. Boxing is a brutal, dangerous endeavour.

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Though there is an element of savagery in so many sports, no, Msolga?

I think many, many people like to see real, or imaginary (as in cinema and wrestling and video games) violence.

Here's a thing, though, babies living in a home where there is violence, suffer neurologically and may fail to thrive (which sounds benign, but is extremely serious). While some of this is doubtless mediated via the effect of the violence on their attachment figure and such, it is nonetheless disturbing when it comes to the diet of endless casual violence on TV and sport and video games etc that we are all surrounded by.

There is also evidence that people raised in such situations seem to desire the level of overstimulation they are accustomed to, in terms of their neurochemicals.

May explain the percentage of people who seem especially to crave blood sport, and whose behaviour at their fighting feasts is so horrible to see....

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Boxer in Title Fight Dies from Injuries, Time for a Ban?

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