Boxer Levander Johnson dies from Injuries

[Hardball]

A moment of silence please........................Boxer Levander johnson has died from injuries substained in his first lightweight (135lb) title defense. He took a beating and was put in a medically induced coma to releive bleeding from his brain. He never came out of the coma and his family decided to take him off of life support.

Source: USA Today

P.S. Please put the families of both fighters in your prayers or thoughts or positive vibes.

[TerryV]

I love boxing and will go to my grave teaching and coaching armature boxing. I strongly believe its a hell of a toss up between Pro-Boxing and Pro-Football. The head damage is very long term in pro-boxing because the hits with those fight gloves and really do a number on the brain. The leverage a good professional fighter gets on his punches combined with the gloves they use and the tapping is unbelievable. Ask any pro after their first fight and they will tell you.

[danfaggella]

this is why i would choose not to involve myself in too much MMA/boxing, things pounding your head are terrable. people end up getting stupid from all the hits, and some, like Lavander, die.

[DJColdfusion]

TTT for Levander. RIP

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I had a dsicussion with member's of Utah's athletic commission about the Johnson's death and a couple of other boxing deaths. The discussion focused on the length of fights and the standing eight count.

In my opinion the standing eight count only gives a fighter enough time to stabilize. The damage to their cranium is already done and the standing eight count only guarantees that they are going to receive even more damage to an already traumatized brain.

Additionally, 10, 12,15 rounds?? How much time do we really need to subject fighters to repeated concussive abuse? Most of the fighter deaths that I have heard about (I wish I had some solid data here) have happened during or after the 10th round. I would like to see fights go to a maximum of eight rounds. It will improve the safety of the sport and reduce the war of attrition that so many pro fights seem to devolve into as the fighters bide their time in the hopes of pulling out a late victory. I hypothisize (SP??) that cutting the standing eight count and reducing the maximum number of rounds to eight would not only improve the safety of the fights it will also raise the level of excitement.

Unfortunately the American Boxing Council and USA Boxing have shot down the idea of dropping the standing eight (so nothing is going to happen) and I don't see any of the organizations out there reducing the number of rounds (only due topotential fiscal losses).

Again TTT for Levander.

[TerryV]

Great point of view and something to really think about.

[Wolverine]

I agree that the standing 8 count doesn't do much to help fighter safety. The problem is that the standing 8 count is a state by state commission by commission thing (having a national commission would help).....it's not usually the norm in pro bouts. (at least major ones) I don't believe the standing 8 count rule was in effect for Johnson’s fight; please correct me if I’m wrong.

You also make a good point with the round length, but I don't think all fights should be capped at 8 rounds. There are certain fighters who should never fight over the 8 round limit simply because of their skill level. I think the 12 round (or even 15 rounds) limit should be reserved for the elite fighters. Once again a national commission would help in this area as well. But with the system we have now the sanctioning bodies should shoulder a lot of the blame. They control who gets into that mandatory shot....

R.I.P Leavander Johnson
You exemplified the heart and soul of our sport.

If anyone can afford it please look into the
THE LEAVANDER FUND
Which is being setup to support the essential needs and education of Leavander's four children.

TTT for Levander. RIP

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.
.

I had a dsicussion with member's of Utah's athletic commission about the Johnson's death and a couple of other boxing deaths. The discussion focused on the length of fights and the standing eight count.

In my opinion the standing eight count only gives a fighter enough time to stabilize. The damage to their cranium is already done and the standing eight count only guarantees that they are going to receive even more damage to an already traumatized brain.

Additionally, 10, 12,15 rounds?? How much time do we really need to subject fighters to repeated concussive abuse? Most of the fighter deaths that I have heard about (I wish I had some solid data here) have happened during or after the 10th round. I would like to see fights go to a maximum of eight rounds. It will improve the safety of the sport and reduce the war of attrition that so many pro fights seem to devolve into as the fighters bide their time in the hopes of pulling out a late victory. I hypothisize (SP??) that cutting the standing eight count and reducing the maximum number of rounds to eight would not only improve the safety of the fights it will also raise the level of excitement.

Unfortunately the American Boxing Council and USA Boxing have shot down the idea of dropping the standing eight (so nothing is going to happen) and I don't see any of the organizations out there reducing the number of rounds (only due topotential fiscal losses).

Again TTT for Levander.

[DJColdfusion]

Levanders fight was an IBF championship fight, he was definitely an elite fighter. I still stand by my assertion that it would be wise to cap pro boxing fights at eight, or even fewer rounds. Jab after jab, cross after cross, hook after hook, round after round . . . is why people are dying in boxing.

The American Boxing Council (ABC) is the national level organization that brings all of the Boxing councils and athletic commissions that govern boxing, in their individual states, under one umbrella. The ABC promotes unified rules usage and works to train referees, judges, and other officials. The ABC also offers other benefits like making sure a fighter banned or suspended in one jurisdiction/state will not be able to get around his ban/suspension just by moving to another state.

They (the ABC) are solidly in favor of the standing eight count and that ultimately means that the standing eight count is here to stay . . . at least until someone convinces the ABC that it is in the sport's best interest to eliminate the rule.

USA boxing is the national organization that supports and regulates ametuer boxing and they to support the standing eight count.

Most commissions defer to the ABC and USA boxing for their rules and much of their policy issues.

[Wolverine]

Although I may disagree with some of your points, I feel this is neither the time nor the thread to argue these issues. Everything we say is simply trivial compared to the loss that the Johnson family has suffered. Maybe we can pick this up again later....

Please see the thread on the Leavander Fund. His family needs our support!

[fozzy40]

That's an interesting point about capping fights to 8-10 rounds. It does beg the question, if you shorten the fight, will the fighters be more aggressive in those rounds compared to a full length fight?

I personally believe that injuries (including fatal ones) are from fighters fighting to frequently and inadequate recovery periods between fights. I had opportunities to work with ringside physicians at the amateur and professional levels. I think amateur boxing is one of THE safest sports in the world. Professional boxing on the other hand, medically, is a travesty. The boxing commissions really have to take an interest in the fighters health.

fozzy40