Can boxing be made safer?

Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

Boxing fatalities

June 28, 1933 -- Benny Duran, knocked out in the third round by Johnny Kunich, featherweights, Reno. Duran died four days later.

Aug. 2, 1933 -- Nick Krumlovich, knocked out in the first round by Johnny Blanchard, middleweights, Reno.

Nov. 26, 1975 -- Roy Holloway, knocked out in the 10th round by Miguel Mayan, junior lightweights, Las Vegas.

Nov. 13, 1982 -- Duk Koo Kim, knocked out in the 14th round by Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, lightweights, Las Vegas. Duk died four days later.

July 7, 1988 -- Harold Watts, an amateur fighter, died two days after collapsing during a sparring session with professional Jeff Franklin in Las Vegas.

Oct. 1, 1992 -- Nunu Puafisi slipped into a coma following a sparring match in Reno and died one year and one day later.

July 22, 1994 -- Robert Wangila, knocked out in the ninth round by David Gonzalez, welterweights, Las Vegas. Wangila died two days later.

May 6, 1995 -- Jimmy Garcia, knocked out in the 11th round by Gabriel Ruelas, super featherweights, Las Vegas. Garcia died 13 days later.

Sept. 26, 1997 -- Johnny Montantes, knocked out in the fifth round by James Crayton, welterweights, Las Vegas. Montantes died two days later.

June 22, 2002 -- Pedro "Rockero" Alcazar, knocked out in the sixth round by Fernando Montiel, junior bantamweights, Las Vegas. Alcazar died two days later.

July 1, 2005 -- Martin Sanchez, knocked out in the ninth round by Rustam Nugaev, super lightweights, Las Vegas. Sanchez died the following day.

Sept. 17, 2005 -- Leavander Johnson, knocked out in the 11th round by Jesus Chavez, lightweights, Las Vegas. Johnson died five days later.

Sources: Journal of Combative Sport and the Associated Press

When lightweight boxer Leavander Johnson died last month after taking 409 punches from Jesus Chavez in their bout at the MGM Grand, it was easy for medical examiners to pin his death on brain damage.

Whether anything could have been done to keep Johnson alive -- in or outside the ring, before or during the fight -- is a much tougher question.

How that question is answered though could have life-or-death consequences, not just for the boxers themselves, but for a sport that generates tens of millions of dollars annually for Nevada and has brought incalculable international publicity to Las Vegas as boxing's premier venue.

This year has been the deadliest in 72 years for Nevada boxing with two fighters dying from injuries in the ring and two others sustaining serious, career-ending brain injuries. All four bouts were in Las Vegas.

Even as a special panel appointed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission begins a six-month inquiry, the American Medical Association and others are expected to press anew for a ban on boxing -- the only way in an inherently dangerous sport to ensure that the death toll does not grow, they say.

Others, while conceding that every boxer enters the ring knowing that the next punch he takes could be his last, are seeking ways to minimize the sport's high risks.

Chief among the proposals are much stricter medical examinations, including mandatory brain scans before and after bouts. Magnetic resonance imaging scans or MRIs are seldom part of pre- or post-fight exams, largely because the $400-plus cost is more than some boxers earn per bout.

Shorter fights, heavier gloves, requiring professionals to wear headgear as amateurs do, restrictions on sparring sessions -- where, because of the frequency, boxers often absorb far more blows than in the actual fights -- are among ideas floated in the widening debate.

Yet after all the well-intentioned and increasingly urgent dialogue, the debate inevitably returns to one central question: Is absolute safety always going to be elusive in a sport where the preferred outcome is one boxer knocking out another?

"Nobody has agonized more than I have over what has happened," Dr. Tony Alamo, a state commissioner and former ringside physician from Las Vegas, said of the fatal and serious-injury bouts this year.

"Were the athletes not equally paired? Were the referees too slow to stop the fights? Were our doctors doing what they needed to do, and were our medical services the best they could be? Is there anything we could have changed?

"I can't come up with anything," Alamo said.

"In terms of our policies and procedures, everything was done to its fullest potential. Nothing has changed this year in boxing. If anything, our latest policies have been making boxing safer.

"But at the end of the day, boxing is a gladiator sport."

Troubled bouts

Today, as in ancient Rome, not every gladiator survives.

That was the case with Johnson, the lightweight contender from Atlantic City, who collapsed in his dressing room shortly after his Sept. 17 fight was halted in the 11th round after being hit 409 times throughout the bout. Doctors later removed blood clots from his brain in an unsuccessful attempt to save him.

His death came only 2 1/2 months after super lightweight Martin Sanchez of Mexico died following a July 1 fight.

The two serious brain injuries came in bouts last spring. On May 13, Mexican bantamweight Leopoldo Gonzalez had knocked down his opponent, Samuel Lopez, and was leading their World Boxing Association Fedelatin championship match at the Orleans. However, later in the fight Gonzalez was knocked down by a body blow, which was followed by a head punch.

After getting up from the second knockdown of the 11th round, Gonzalez was pinned to the ropes and hit by a series of blows to the head, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

Afterward, the five-member Nevada State Athletic Commission, the state's boxing regulator, permanently suspended Gonzalez's state boxing license after finding that he suffered severe bleeding in the brain.

Two weeks later, featherweight William Abelyan of Henderson was overwhelming Philip Payne through the first nine rounds of their May 27 bout at the Gold Coast. But Abelyan was knocked down twice in the 10th round, then backed into a corner by a series of head shots.

After the referee stopped the fight, Abelyan sat on a stool in the ring and continued throwing punches as if the contest was still in progress.

As it did with Gonzalez, the athletic commission permanently suspended Abelyan because of a brain injury.

"We wish we could determine a common thread to these fights, but we haven't been able to do so," commission Chairman Raymond "Skip" Avansino Jr. of Reno said. "I'm not proud of having two deaths. That's two too many."

When it comes to boxing fatalities, Nevada is hardly alone. Twelve other states, led by New York, have more boxing-related fatalities than the 12 known deaths in Nevada since the early 1900s, according to the Journal of Combative Sport, which maintains the world's most comprehensive database on boxing fatalities.

But 2005's toll in Nevada, the worst since two boxers died in 1933, has raised new questions about the state's ability to effectively regulate boxing. The commission has appointed a five-member Advisory Committee on Boxer Health and Safety, which is scheduled to hold its first meeting Thursday in Las Vegas. A report is due in April.

The committee, chaired by former boxing commissioner Sig Rogich of Las Vegas, includes former commissioners Luther Mack of Reno and James Nave of Las Vegas; Assemblyman Harvey Munford, D-Las Vegas; and Dr. Charles Ruggeroli of Las Vegas, who specializes in cardiovascular diseases.

If the committee recommends changes, Alamo said he hopes they are based on sound medicine and science.

"The problem is that modern medical science hasn't delved into boxing the way it has gone into race car driving and other sports," Alamo said.

The athletic commission's staff already has reviewed the work of the referees and ringside physicians in the Gonzalez, Abelyan, Sanchez and Johnson matches. In each case, the staff found nothing wrong in the officials' conduct.

Abelyan's trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad of Las Vegas, said he believes the referee acted appropriately in stopping the fight, and that the commission was right to place his boxer on permanent suspension.

"We were winning the fight, but William got caught with some good punches, went down and couldn't recover," said Muhammad, a former World Boxing Association light heavyweight champion. "If a fighter comes down with bleeding on the brain, he shouldn't fight again.

"I sat down with William afterward and told him that there is life after boxing."

Muhammad said he wishes that fellow trainers also would stop fights sooner.

"You have to have corner people who are compassionate about their fighters," Muhammad said. "At the end of the day, I want my fighters to go home so that they can hug their kids."

Professional gambler Lem Banker of Las Vegas, who has followed the sport for several decades, also believes that some trainers do not know when to throw in the towel when their fighters are being battered.

"The corners should throw in the towel more than they do," Banker said. "But they don't because they always think their guy will come up with a miracle punch that will lead to a bigger payday."

In the Sanchez case, the athletic commission took the additional step of asking the Nevada attorney general's office to investigate the bout because he was the first boxer to die after a Nevada fight since the June 2002 death of junior bantamweight Pedro Alcazar.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Keith Kizer told the commission Sept. 6 that Sanchez was appropriately licensed to fight because of his 13-8 record with 10 knockouts and because his medical tests were in order.

He also concluded that Sanchez received proper medical attention after the fight -- the boxer was on an operating table at Valley Hospital less than an hour after the bout. He said there was no need to revise the commission's regulations because of Sanchez's death.

"We have not found anything we would have changed about the way that bout was handled," Avansino said. "It was handled well. It was just an unfortunate incident where the fighter had an injury to the head."

But Johnson's death two months later gave the issue a new urgency.

Licensing maze

One area expected to be examined by the health and safety committee is the limited amount of brain scanning that boxers are required to undergo. Some see this as perhaps the biggest gap in Nevada law.

To get the athletic commission to approve a boxing license, a fighter must get a brain MRI to make certain there are no abnormalities, such as internal bleeding or swelling.

One loophole, however, is that applicants between 18 and 35 need to have had only one MRI in the past five years, have fought professionally within the past three years, have not fought more than 425 professional rounds, and have not been suspended in another state.

Unless the license is limited to a shorter period, it is good for the remainder of the calendar year. Boxers may fight several times in a year -- and participate in numerous sparring sessions -- without any subsequent brain scans. Over five years, that means a boxer may fight dozens of times between MRIs.

MRIs are not used more frequently because of the cost. Although the athletic commission has a list of medical providers from whom a fighter can receive an MRI for $425, the cost can run two to three times higher outside Nevada.

But even the lower price tag is more than many minor boxers laboring in anonymity in bouts that will never be televised earn for a single fight.

Health and safety panelist Mack suggested that promoters be required to set aside money to pay for MRIs for boxers unable to afford them. Fellow panelist Munford agrees with medical professionals who say boxers should undergo MRIs before and after every fight -- and that finances should not be an obstacle.

"There is a lot of money out there," said Munford, a former college basketball star. "Money is set aside for athletes in other sports. Why not boxing?"

Super bantamweight Wayne McCullough of Las Vegas, required by the state to get an annual MRI because of a cyst discovered between his brain and skull several years ago, gets more than one MRI annually because he can afford to do so.

"I get scans before and after each fight," said McCullough, a former World Boxing Council champion. "I do that because I want to make sure I'm healthy.

"For me, spending $425 on an MRI is change money, but some boxers don't earn enough that they can pay for it. Maybe they should take a percentage of the prize money and put it into a fund to pay for MRIs," he said.

"The promoters can play a big role, too, because they make a lot of money."

Several promoters did not return phone calls for comments for this story.

As part of the license application, boxers also must undergo a physical examination, an eye exam, an AIDS test and other blood tests for hepatitis. The medical requirements are more stringent for boxers 36 and older, those who have boxed at least 425 professional rounds or have not fought professionally for at least three years.

Unless otherwise ordered by the commission, the only other times a fighter is checked by a doctor are immediately before the weigh-in -- usually the day before the fight -- during the fight itself when necessary and immediately after the bout.

The preweigh-in exam includes the fighter's eyes, ears and mouth, his hands and any cuts on his body. Few argue that the exam is likely to uncover any but the most transparent potential health dangers.

Ringside physicians employed by the state commission attend each fight to tend to any injuries, but it is up to the referee to stop a fight because of an injury.

"We're trying to improve communications between the physicians and referees between each round," Avansino said. "We want them to share information such as, 'Is a cut too big?' "

After fights, each boxer is accompanied to the dressing room by a ringside physician who conducts a brief exam -- or arranges for more thorough medical attention if he detects a potentially serious injury. Head scans, however, are only occasionally performed after bouts.

The physician files a report with the commission, which then determines whether the fighter should undergo more tests or be suspended for a certain length of time. A boxer knocked out from a blow to the head is not allowed to fight in Nevada for at least 45 days, and must receive a head exam before reinstatement.

Suspending a boxer to protect his health is not always a popular decision with the fighter. A notable example is the ongoing case of heavyweight Joe Mesi of Tonawanda, N.Y., who was given an open-ended suspension last year because of bleeding on his brain after his victory over Vassiliy Jirov at Mandalay Bay in March 2004.

Mesi has sued the commission in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas for reinstatement, claiming he is healthy enough to fight. In its court brief, the state stressed that Mesi "suffered at least two subdural hematomas, and subdural hematomas are the leading cause of death in boxers."

Sparring dangers

Whatever medical attention boxers receive just before, during and after their bouts, however, the most prolonged -- and perhaps most serious -- punishment their bodies receive often comes during training.

In preparing for bouts, most fighters go through dozens of rounds of sparring. And while boxers typically wear headgear while sparring, they also absorb far more punches during training than in the fight itself -- often with no doctor present.

"We just need a better system that allows us to monitor what they're doing when they're training, if that's practical," Rogich said.

Muhammad thinks he has a solution. He suggests that the athletic commission hire retired boxers who would go to training facilities unannounced to check on the condition of fighters.

"They can tell how these fighters are acting and reacting and report back to the commission," he said. "They would be an extension of the commission. What you have to have is honesty."

Muhammad, founder and president of the Joint Association of Boxers, a union for fighters, hopes the fledgling organization plays a major role in promoting better safety measures for fighters.

To reduce head injuries, he would like to see Nevada ban sparring in the week before a fight, which would force boxers to use speed bags and other equipment. The break from sparring could help boxers enter the ring in better physical shape and less susceptible to compounding any injuries obtained in training.

Another suggestion is to reduce major bouts from 12 rounds to 10, an idea likely to draw opposition from fight fans worried about "getting their money's worth."

Using heavier gloves than the 8- to 10-ounce gloves mandated in Nevada contests also has been discussed. Few, however, favor requiring professionals to wear headgear, as amateurs must, Munford said.

"Some boxers told me headgear would take away from boxing because what attracts the fans are the blows upside the head," he said.

But even if changes in medical procedures or equipment improve safety in boxing, it is of marginal value once the bell rings.

"I know when I get into the ring that I could die, but I put that in the back of my mind," McCullough said. "I don't think anything medically will stop boxing injuries."

Steve Kanigher can be reached at 259-4075 or at steve@lasvegassun.com.

archive