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By Mark LeRoy: Recently I’ve witnessed several referees, ringside physicians and even corners refuse to pull their man from a fight when they are so far removed from winning and the risk far outweighs the sense of pride when still on two feet when that final bell chimes. Most of these brave men have family’s and like true warriors they refuse to wilt, it’s at times like these were all involved need to stand up and make the call no matter how unpopular.
Most recently I witnessed Manny Pacquiao inflict a beat down on Antonio Margarito who to even the inexperienced eye had little chance of winning. Margarito’s face was grotesquely swollen with one eye almost close. Pacquiao continuously looked at the referee Laurence Cole in the hope he would use his authority to stop the fight (he did not, and neither did the corner. Pacquiao in a display of sportsmanship and sheer class dropped a gear and lessoned his attack, allowing the fight to go the distance.
In another horrible display of officiating and corner work referee Ian John-Lewis refused to stop the fight between Shannon Briggs and Vitali Klitschko when Briggs was way behind on the scorecards in a WBC sanctioned fight with open scoring. Had John-Lewis done his homework he would have known Briggs who was noted for his first round knockouts had not stopped an opponent since his seventh round KO of Ray Mercer five years earlier in 2005. Such was the intensity of the beating Briggs endured he was hospitalised for several days after the fight. During the contest Vitali’s brother Wladimir who usually offers his brother advice form the corner could be seen focusing his attention on the coerner of Briggs, after the fight Wladimir said he kept glancing over as he fully expected the Briggs corner to pull him from the fight.
It’s true that some of the best fights in the sports history would never have happened if an over protective referee stopped the fight. The punishment dished out during the infamous Gatti – Ward trilogy was brutal, but the fight was always competitive. Another fight that springs to mind was the 2005 WBC and WBO lightweight clash between the late Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo. In the tenth round Corrales was flored twice and with his face swollen badly referee Tony Weeks let the fight continue because he knew the fighter and knew Corrales was most dangerous when hurt, his assessment was right as Corrals rallied at the end of the same round to secure a sensational knockout victory in one of the greatest fights of all time.
After last night I not only tip my hat to the brave Katsidis who put up a gallant performance and Marquez who put on another punch perfect spectacle, I tip my hat to Kenny Bayless who stepped in at exactly the right moment to make sure a beaten man never took a single punch he did not have to.
Bayless an unsung hero and is among the elite in his profession.
Knocking a person unconscious can cause permanent brain damage. When Chris Eubank knocked out Michael Watson in their notorious fight at Earl's Court in 1991, it ended Watson's career and very nearly cost him his life. He was in a coma for 40 days, had six brain operations to remove a blood clot and was left wheelchair-bound. Eubank was so upset by what he had done he nearly gave up boxing. Even Watson fared better than Johnny Owen, the diminutive Welsh bantamweight known as"Matchstick Man", who died at the age of 24 after being knocked out in a world title fight against the Mexican Lupe Pintor in 1980 in Los Angeles.
How does the brain react when the head is struck?
The brain is like a blancmange inside a wooden box. It has the consistency of set custard and is secured within a pool of fluid in the skull by veins no more substantial than those on the back of your hand. The arrangement works well until the box is hit. Then the skull suffers rapid rotation, acceleration, and deceleration - the jerking motion in which the head rocks rapidly back and forth.
The most frequent cause of damage is a torn vein in the skull which bleeds causing a blood clot. This increases the pressure inside the skull, squeezing the brain. Cumulative brain injuries, in which the brain is scarred by repeated blows, are also common over a long career, leading to conditions including the “punch drunk “syndrome, a symptom of which is slurred speech.
Humans are made of flesh and blood. No matter how much lung capacity and fast twitch fibres a fighter accumulates he can still bleed if drilled in the right spot. While it is true that certain faces have higher resistance than others, anyone can be split open with 8 oz. gloved leather. Some promising prospects with an abundance of skill have been denied fame and fortune because of their paper thin skin. Other fighters like the late Arturo Gatti became fan favourites because of their propensity to ooze plasma because fight fans are blood thirsty.
By Mark LeRoy: Recently I’ve witnessed several referees, ringside physicians and even corners refuse to pull their man from a fight when they are so far removed from winning and the risk far outweighs the sense of pride when still on two feet when that final bell chimes. Most of these brave men have family’s and like true warriors they refuse to wilt, it’s at times like these were all involved need to stand up and make the call no matter how unpopular.
Most recently I witnessed Manny Pacquiao inflict a beat down on Antonio Margarito who to even the inexperienced eye had little chance of winning. Margarito’s face was grotesquely swollen with one eye almost close. Pacquiao continuously looked at the referee Laurence Cole in the hope he would use his authority to stop the fight (he did not, and neither did the corner. Pacquiao in a display of sportsmanship and sheer class dropped a gear and lessoned his attack, allowing the fight to go the distance.
In another horrible display of officiating and corner work referee Ian John-Lewis refused to stop the fight between Shannon Briggs and Vitali Klitschko when Briggs was way behind on the scorecards in a WBC sanctioned fight with open scoring. Had John-Lewis done his homework he would have known Briggs who was noted for his first round knockouts had not stopped an opponent since his seventh round KO of Ray Mercer five years earlier in 2005. Such was the intensity of the beating Briggs endured he was hospitalised for several days after the fight. During the contest Vitali’s brother Wladimir who usually offers his brother advice form the corner could be seen focusing his attention on the coerner of Briggs, after the fight Wladimir said he kept glancing over as he fully expected the Briggs corner to pull him from the fight.
It’s true that some of the best fights in the sports history would never have happened if an over protective referee stopped the fight. The punishment dished out during the infamous Gatti – Ward trilogy was brutal, but the fight was always competitive. Another fight that springs to mind was the 2005 WBC and WBO lightweight clash between the late Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo. In the tenth round Corrales was flored twice and with his face swollen badly referee Tony Weeks let the fight continue because he knew the fighter and knew Corrales was most dangerous when hurt, his assessment was right as Corrals rallied at the end of the same round to secure a sensational knockout victory in one of the greatest fights of all time.
After last night I not only tip my hat to the brave Katsidis who put up a gallant performance and Marquez who put on another punch perfect spectacle, I tip my hat to Kenny Bayless who stepped in at exactly the right moment to make sure a beaten man never took a single punch he did not have to.
Bayless an unsung hero and is among the elite in his profession.
Knocking a person unconscious can cause permanent brain damage. When Chris Eubank knocked out Michael Watson in their notorious fight at Earl's Court in 1991, it ended Watson's career and very nearly cost him his life. He was in a coma for 40 days, had six brain operations to remove a blood clot and was left wheelchair-bound. Eubank was so upset by what he had done he nearly gave up boxing. Even Watson fared better than Johnny Owen, the diminutive Welsh bantamweight known as"Matchstick Man", who died at the age of 24 after being knocked out in a world title fight against the Mexican Lupe Pintor in 1980 in Los Angeles.
How does the brain react when the head is struck?
The brain is like a blancmange inside a wooden box. It has the consistency of set custard and is secured within a pool of fluid in the skull by veins no more substantial than those on the back of your hand. The arrangement works well until the box is hit. Then the skull suffers rapid rotation, acceleration, and deceleration - the jerking motion in which the head rocks rapidly back and forth.
The most frequent cause of damage is a torn vein in the skull which bleeds causing a blood clot. This increases the pressure inside the skull, squeezing the brain. Cumulative brain injuries, in which the brain is scarred by repeated blows, are also common over a long career, leading to conditions including the “punch drunk “syndrome, a symptom of which is slurred speech.
Humans are made of flesh and blood. No matter how much lung capacity and fast twitch fibres a fighter accumulates he can still bleed if drilled in the right spot. While it is true that certain faces have higher resistance than others, anyone can be split open with 8 oz. gloved leather. Some promising prospects with an abundance of skill have been denied fame and fortune because of their paper thin skin. Other fighters like the late Arturo Gatti became fan favourites because of their propensity to ooze plasma because fight fans are blood thirsty.
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