A good year for boxing, but the sport mourns its losses

[WelshDevilRob]

A good year for boxing, but the sport mourns its losses

 

Boxing is inherently a dangerous sport and 2009 was no less harrowing. Graeme Bradley looks at some of the tragedies both in and out of the ring.

By Graeme Bradley

 

The past twelve months have been a successful year for boxing. Rising stars such as Edwin Valero, Juan Manuel Lopez and Amir Khan have shown their promise and Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr have staked their claims to be considered as all-time-greats. not to David Haye shaking up the heavyweight division. However, 2009 also saw the darker side of the sport strike on numerous occasions, preventing the rise of others and cutting short the lives of former greats.

 

The dangers of boxing are not only present within the ring. Alcoholism, depression and suicide are high among retired pugilists, and the chronic mental impairment which eats away at a fighter’s brain can turn once great warriors into stumbling, mumbling shadows of their former selves. Boxing organisations have, over the years, enforced measures to improve the safety of boxing including the introduction of 12 rounds instead of 15, emergency medical staff on hand, medical checks in the run-up to fights and also smaller changes such as sending a fighter to a neutral corner when he knocks down his opponent - one need only watch Jack Dempsey’s destruction of Jess Willard from 1919 to see the ‘Manassa Mauler’ stand over his opponent as Big Jess tries to rise to his feet only for Dempsey to land again before Willard has time to stand up straight. None of these can overcome the inherent dangers in the sport and 2009 proved to be a harrowing year both in and out of the ring.

 

In May of 2009, two young boxers died within days of each other as a result of injuries sustained in the ring. Benjamin Flores, 24, was a Mexican super bantamweight who was knocked out in the eighth round by Al Seeger for the NABF title. Flores was taken to hospital, but died five days later, just days before his 25th birthday. Two days later, Hungarian light heavyweight Andras Nagy, 23, also died after suffering a brain injury during training. Nagy was hospitalized and underwent two operations before succumbing to his injuries on May 7.

 

Closer to home, 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Darren Sutherland took his own life on September 14 by hanging himself in his flat in Bromley, London. The Dubliner, who won the bronze middleweight medal for Ireland at the Beijing Olympics, was found by his manager Frank Maloney, who himself suffered a suspected heart-attack upon finding his fighter and friend. Sutherland had won gold in amateur tournaments and had begun his professional career with a perfect record of 4-0 (4 KOs). He was 27.

 

Sutherland was said to be suffering from depression, which may also have had an impact on the deaths of two former boxing legends. Both Alexis Arguello and Arturo Gatti took their own lives this year in the same month; Gatti allegedly hanged himself in Brazil while Arguello shot himself in Nicaragua.

 

Arguello, who was 57 and the mayor of Managua at the time of his death, had retired from boxing in 1995. Since then, two marriages had broken down amid rumours of promiscuity, cocaine abuse, alcoholism and domestic violence. Arguello, who won the WBC lightweight title from Scottish southpaw Jim Watt, was rehabilitated but still suffered from bouts of depression and admitted contemplating suicide several times before finally pulling the trigger on July 1. The Nicaraguan’s political career was no less controversial, having supported the Sandinistas and then taken up arms for the Contras before finally making peace with the Sandinistas, resulting in his much disputed election victory as Mayor. The three-weight world champion was described by Jim Watt as “The hardest man I ever fought and one of the nicest men I ever met”.

 

Similarly tragic was the suicide of Arturo “Thunder” Gatti just ten days later aged 37. Gatti had been in retirement from the sport for two years and was best remembered for his trilogy of wars against “Irish” Micky Ward. Both Ward and Gatti formed a friendship outside the ring through a mutual respect and battled like gladiators inside it – two of their battles picking up Fight of the Year awards from The Ring magazine. Gatti was a warrior prizefighter, a throwback to the likes Rocky Graziano, he came to fight and it didn’t matter if he won or lost, it was always a great show.

 

The Italian-born Canadian was holidaying in Pernambuco, Brazil with his Brazilian wife Amanda Rodriguez and their ten-month-old son when he was found dead. Rodriguez was arrested and charged with first degree murder, although it was later revealed to be suicide and she was released. However, the family of the boxer demanded a second autopsy by Canadian medical staff and injuries were discovered on Gatti’s body which had previously been overlooked by Brazilian authorities. The Canadian government are still investigating the death of the former WBC light welterweight champion.

 

Inside the ring, the World Boxing Council (WBC) called for stronger enforcement of their rule prohibiting fathers from working in their son’s corner during a fight. The WBC acknowledges the rule is being flouted but emphasise the link between fatalities and fathers in the corner therefore clamping down on such occurrences. Speaking of fatalities in the ring over the years, Dr Paul Wallace, chairman of the WBC's Medical Advisory Board, said: "The most common factor out of all the fatalities that had happened, was having fathers in the corner."

 

WBC Governor Rex Walker said there was the danger of fathers living out their own dreams through their own sons resulting in added pressure on the fighter. "Too many fathers live through their kid in the ring," he said. "They transform from the corner to the kid, and they want to stay in the fight, but they're not the ones getting hit."

 

WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, who has his father close-by during fights, but not in his corner, added: "Most of the breakups between a father and son happen in the corner because so many emotions are involved," said Berto, who fights Shane Mosley on January 30. "The father tends to step out of his boundary, getting into 'father mode' instead of 'trainer mode'. You have to be able to separate that."

 

There are calls for organisations to do everything in their power to improve the safety of boxing, while others continue to call for the banning of boxing altogether. However, boxing seems tame by comparison to mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which poses a greater danger to fighters. But fatalities chronicled here, all tied in one way or another to boxing, demonstrate the destructive nature of the sport and the need for further support for fighters both during their careers and long after they have hung up their gloves.

 

Source:

http://sport.stv.tv

[WelshDevilRob]

2007 and 2008 were great years for boxing. The buzz came back. 2009 for me was one of expectation but ultimately cancelled/postponed fights and deaths.

 

Still some great fights but not as good as the previous 2 years for me.

[paintballdan]

Good read Rob, thanks for posting.

 

The stand out bit for me was the Gatti "suicide." Leaving a 10 month boy behind, he'd have to be in an unbelievably troubled state or there was something dodgy going on. I really feel for the kid growing up without his pa.

 

The boxing authorities have taken some steps but ultimately, there'll always be a far higher incidence of depression, mental illness and premature deaths than the norm due to the nature of the sport. It's the life they lead and fighters know this going in.

 

Having said this, condolonces to the families who've lost someone in the ring in 09 & here's hoping 2010 will be safer.

[gemmell100]

great post rob.

hopefully we have no loses in the boxing community next year.