APOLOGIES in advance for the bleak nature of today’s BN@5 offering but it’s always important to reflect on the grim realities of the sport, especially when it’s currently dealing with yet another failed drug test.
The first bit of news concerns the late Maxim Dadashev, who sadly passed away last week from injuries sustained in a bout against Subriel Matias on July 19 in Maryland.
According to TASS, the Russian Boxing Federation are going to submit a lawsuit to the organisers of the fight on behalf of Dadashev’s widow, Elizaveta Apushkina. The lawsuit centres on two possible rule violations which, Apushkina believes, may have led to the 28-year-old’s death.
“The lawsuit will be made on behalf of Maxim’s widow and the federation will provide help and assistance,” a federation spokesman said, TASS reported.
“We have already involved lawyers, who are preparing documents. There are two factors for the submission of the lawsuit: the first is the suspicion that the authenticity of Maxim’s medical documents were not checked and that he suffered from prior health problems.
“The second factor is there were violations in providing emergency medical services to the boxer inside and outside the ring, that also could lead to this outcome.”
Umar Kremlev, the head of the Russian Boxing Federation, stated the organisation had written to the Maryland State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the fight at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill.
“We sent a letter to the Maryland State Athletic Commission with the pretence that they release information on the fight preparations. Then we will prepare a lawsuit against the organisers. We will get to the bottom of it,” Kremlev said, RIA Novosti reported.
Dadashev died in hospital after suffering a subdural hematoma – a bleed to the brain – following his 11th round stoppage loss at the hands of Puerto Rico’s Matias. The St. Petersburg-born fighter was unconscious when leaving the ring and seemed concussed and unsteady on his feet before the fight was stopped between rounds 11 and 12.
After being transported to the local UM Prince George’s Hospital Center, he was placed into a medically-induced coma and underwent a two-hour surgical procedure to relieve swelling in his skull. He died the following Tuesday.
Our continued thoughts and best wishes go out to Elizaveta Apushkina and the rest of Dadashev’s family and friends.
Spare a thought also for Christian Castillo, the son of the great Jose Luis Castillo, who is currently fighting for his life following a sparring session in Tijuana, Mexico.
The 21-year-old, just two fights into his pro career, was in the midst of preparing for his next fight when a sparring session took a turn for the worse. He ended up suffering a stroke and was then operated on at the local general hospital.
“Our prayers for the health of a great young boxer, Christian Castillo, son of my friend and former world lightweight champion José Luis Castillo. I invite you to join in prayer,” said promoter Fernando Beltrán of Zanfer.
Brother and fellow boxer Jose Luis Jnr had been due to compete on the same bill as Christian last Friday (July 26) but withdrew following the news of his brother’s medical emergency. He has asked for donations to help the family cope with increasing medical bills.
“As you know my brother’s health is on a thread,” said Jose. “Over the course of yesterday (July 25), it was even more complicated by the infectious pneumonia he captured. It was a critical moment, so we had to move him to another hospital.
“Because of this, yesterday’s night was very stressful and overwhelming, and I decided not to fight. Not for fear of me not going to win, or fear of my opponent, but for all the whirlwind of things that wouldn’t let me be 50% focused for my fight.
“When you get in the ring, you risk your life. If we go in without total concentration, we are calling death to get closer to where we are. We don’t have to give more reasons for death.
“An apology to all who had bought a ticket to go support me. There will be another time with a better situation.”
A Go Fund Me page, set up by Jose, has so far raised over $3,000 of their $20,000 goal. To donate, visit HERE.
In addition to my concern for these unfortunate boxers I’m also concerned for boxing itself. These terrible tragedies will no doubt give succour to the increasingly noisy anti-boxing brigade who seem to only see one side of the boxing equation and are apparently unaware of the beneficial social impact that boxing can, and does have, on so many young men and women, particularly in poor areas, throughout the world.
Their naive assumption that banning boxing will save lives is ridiculous as boxing would simply go underground where unregulated fights would take place with poor safety and medical provision. In such circumstances surely it’s better to make a well regulated and controlled sport safer and that is exactly what the investigations into these tragic cases will do if they identify anything that should be improved.