Boxing is a deadly sport because it focuses solely on punches throughout the 12 rounds. In addition, ten-ounce gloves increase the severity of the blows. Such a blow brings more damage to the brain. Getting hit on the head for 12 rounds is a serious burden.?
The fact that in boxing knockdowns are counted and the fighter is allowed to recover, has a downside, since the boxer has every chance of receiving additional damage. From 1890 to 2011, 1604 boxing athletes died. Here we will only talk about some of the tragic cases.
Table of Contents
Frankie Campbell (1930)
American boxer of Italian descent Frankie Campbell was a rather eminent representative of the sport when on August 25, 1930, he met in the ring with the real heavyweight titan Max Ber. In part, Frankie himself had a hand in this outcome, when, after a successful hit in the second round, he decided to salute the fans and immediately missed a heavy blow.?
During the break, he told his mentor that he had something “jumped” in his head, but the fight was not stopped. In the fifth round, Beru managed to press the opponent to the ropes and carry out an excellent combination, after which everyone was waiting for the towel thrown out from the corner of Campbell, but the referee had to intervene in the course of the fight. Immediately after the fight, Frankie went to the hospital, where he died the next day.?
A criminal case was opened against Bera, but he was completely acquitted. In the future, Behr helped his family and even financed the education of Campbell’s children, and after this incident, he never again used his crown blow from the right.
Jimmy Doyle (1947)
The first defense of the championship title in the career of one of the greatest boxers in history, Ray Robinson, turned into a tragedy. His rival was the talented young boxer James Emerson Delaney, who performed under the pseudonym Jimmy Doyle.?
The trouble began before the fight, when Ray had a dream in which his future rival dies. In the morning, the shocked champion announced that he could not fight Doyle, but the priest invited by the commission assured Robinson that his fears were unfounded. Nevertheless, the dream turned out to be prophetic, and in the eighth round he sent his opponent into a deep knockout, from which Doyle did not come out.?
Doctors described the injury as a rupture of the membrane of the brain caused by hitting the head against the canvas of the ring. Robinson’s fee for the fight was $ 25 thousand, and almost $ 12 thousand was transferred to the family of the deceased. Robinson pledged to pay the opponent’s family $ 50 every month, and from the next two non-title fights against Flashy Sebastian and Jackie Wilson, the boxer gave more than a thousand dollars in royalties. Most likely, Jimmy’s death was the result of complicating the consequences of a knockout, in which the boxer found himself a year earlier, in a fight against the famous puncher of the time, Artie Levin. Levin managed to send Robinson himself to the canvas, who later called Artie his most hard hitting opponent.
Davey Moore (1963)
This tragic incident prompted Bob Dylan to create a musical masterpiece, and the Pope to condemn professional professional boxing. After an awkward landing as a result of a knockdown, in which Sugar Ramos sent him, Davey Moore was able to continue the fight, and died only after more than three days in the hospital.
Young Ali (1982)
As a result of the boxing match with Barry McGuigan, the losing athlete Asimin Mustafa (played under the pseudonym Young Ali) was in a coma. He was hooked up to the artificial life support system, but he soon died, leaving behind a spouse who was expecting a child. Years later, Barry confessed that he still had remorse.
Duk Ku Kim (1982)
One of the most resonant tragedies, which seriously changed the face of professional boxing, happened in November 1982 in Las Vegas. American WBA Lightweight Champion Ray Mancini made his second title defense against obscure Korean boxer Duk Ku Kim.?
From the very beginning of the fight, the 23-year-old Korean showed himself to be a staunch boxer who is ready to endure and take punches. In the second half of the fight, which consisted of 15 rounds, Kim steadfastly endured a beating from a more skilled opponent. The endurance of the Korean was enough for 14 rounds and in the penultimate three minutes he was in the hardest knockout. Immediately after the fight, the Korean boxer was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a 100 ml subdural hematoma.?
An operation was carried out, which did not bring success, and four days later the boxer died. The doctor who operated on said that the injury was caused by one precise direct blow to the head. This event forced boxing organizations to abandon 15-round bouts, limiting themselves to 12 rounds. (Alprazolam) Also, the referee received clear instructions to stop the fight at the slightest suspicion of injury to one of the boxers.?
After that, the number of technical knockouts in the first rounds increased markedly. It is worth noting that the death of a Korean boxer did not have serious consequences only for sports. His mother could not cope with her grief and after three months took her own life. Fight referee Richard Green, who considered himself guilty of the death of the 23-year-old athlete due to not stopping the fight in time, also committed suicide.?
Mancini himself fell into a deep depression and despite the fact that friends managed to convince him of his innocence, his promoter Bob Arum said that Ray had changed a lot after this incident and was never the same again.
A few more words about Las Vegas and boxing. It is worth noting that the software developers for online , honored the memory of all the boxers by creating free online slots no download with the theme of boxing.
Roman Simakov (2011)
In December 2011, the famous Russian boxer Sergei Kovalev, who then had not yet had time to declare himself to the whole world and become one of the best Russian professional boxers in history, flew to Yekaterinburg for the second time in his career to hold a fight there. His rival was another promising Russian, Roman Simakov, who held the WBC Asian Championship.?
Spectators expected to see a competitive 12-round duel between two promising athletes, however, in reality, everything turned out differently. From the very first rounds, Kovalev seized the initiative, acted more actively and threw out more punches. Even before the sixth round, when Roman was knocked down for the first time, he managed to miss a large number of heavy punches.?
The knockdown was difficult, and recalling that fight, Kovalev stated that he was amazed by the opponent’s resilience: ?After a successful attack in the sixth round, after which Roma was knocked down, I thought that he would not continue the fight. In any case, I really wanted it, because he had already missed a lot of punches before, and my finger, too, responded with pain with every backhand. To be honest, I was surprised at Roma’s stamina, patience and character when he stood up and decided to continue the fight further. “?
In the seventh round, Kovalev’s advantage became overwhelming, which grew into another fall from Simakov’s side, which was the last. The boxer managed to get up, but after a few seconds his legs gave way, and he again hung on the ropes. According to the doctors, the boxer fell into a coma while still in the ring. After that, he was urgently taken to the hospital, where he underwent a craniotomy, but three days later Roman died. It is worth noting that Kovalev repeatedly helped the Simakov family, and the fee for the fight with Isaac Chilemba, which amounted to about a million dollars, he completely gave to the athlete’s parents.
Mike Towell (2016)
A local tournament in Glasgow, UK, was marred by tragedy when Mike Towell was knocked out by Dale Evans. Mike’s death occurred as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. Volunteers raised tens of thousands of pounds to help the family of the deceased boxer.?
Scott Westgart (2018) Scott Westgart won the fight against Deck Spelman, but the victory turned out to be death for him. After the fight, the boxer was taken to the hospital, where he died from the punches missed in the ring. At the time of his death, the athlete was 31 years old.
Maxim Dadashev (2019)
The death of another unbeaten Russian prospect, Maxim Dadashev, who was considered one of the most promising Russian representatives of the first welterweight, shocked the boxing community less than two weeks ago. The first rounds of the fight were held in an equal fight, however, starting from the fifth three minutes, Matthias seized the initiative, and the further the fight went, the more one-sided it became. In the interval between 11 and 12 rounds, it became obvious to Dadashev’s second Buddy McGirt that his ward could not continue the fight. After unsuccessful attempts to get approval from Maxim, McGirt announced that he was withdrawing his boxer from the fight, but it was too late. On the way to the locker room, Dadashev became ill, after which he was put on a stretcher and urgently hospitalized.?
At the hospital, he was diagnosed with cerebral edema, injected into an artificial coma and underwent many hours of craniotomy in order to reduce the edema. Despite all the efforts made by the doctors, Dadashev never regained consciousness and died on July 23. The boxer’s heart could not stand it. After the fight, information began to appear that ten years ago Maxim suffered from severe viral meningitis with complications, after which doctors and trainers begged him to stop boxing.
Patrick Day (2019)
The fight with Charles Conwell ended with the death of American boxer Patrick Day. Even the emergency surgery of the surgeons did not save him. Patrick died in a coma without regaining consciousness.
Conclusion
These fatalities in the ring give rise to an ambivalent attitude towards professional boxing. Some consider it to be too cruel a sport that has no right to exist. Others insist that athletes make their professional choices voluntarily and know the risks they take. Nevertheless, everyone experiences great sorrow over the death of these brave people.
