Boxer dies in Blue Horizon bout

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Philadelphia Daily News

ON HIS FIRST TRIP to Philadelphia, Francisco Rodriguez did what a lot of tourists do: He headed to the Art Museum for a photo at the Rocky statue. What else would you expect of a professional boxer who, a few days later, would be fighting for a minor title at the Blue Horizon?

"He was happy. He said, 'When I get back to Chicago, I'm going to tell everybody, 'I saw the Rocky statue!' " recalled Benny Baez, a Philly resident and former fighter who had been hired as a temporary addition to Rodriguez' corner team.

The 25-year-old Rodriguez, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, known as "Paco" to friends and family, will never get to share that experience. Rodriguez was removed from life support at around 8:30 last night, according to his older brother and manager, Alex.

Rodriguez was injured during a 10th-round knockout loss to North Philly's Teon Kennedy on Friday night in a matchup for the vacant USBA super bantamweight championship.

A minute or so after Rodriguez (14-3-1, 8 KOs) was helped onto his stool following the stoppage in the scheduled 12-round bout, his body went limp and his breathing became labored. Ring physicians and EMS personnel frantically administered to him before he was removed from the ring on a stretcher and transported to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure for a brain bleed.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091123_Requiem_for_a_super_bantamweight__Francisco_Rodriguez_dies_after_fight_at_Blue_Horizon.html

[Doctor_J]

1. The object of boxing is to send opponent into a coma

no surprise here. Best wishes to his family

[Lance_Boyle]

6. that's so far from true it's clear you have zero idea what you're talking about

but thanks, I suppose, for making your ignorance so blatantly obvious that no one need fear you'll be taken seriously.

[Doctor_J]

7. Looks like this thread is rife with "ignorance", Lance

you are in a minority of 1 in your opinion that the object of pro boxing is not to knock your opponent senseless.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

8. The object of the manly sport of self-defense is to hit and not be hit.

It is a true test of conditioning, strategy and intestinal fortitude to engage in this sport. No boxer ever went into the ring with the object of " to send opponent into a coma," and it does show ignorance to make such an asinine, insensitive statement. Boxing has always provided an opportunity for the most suppressed minorities in our country to escape a hopeless future and gain wealth and self-respect through boxing. ESPN did a survey not long ago and it was determined that boxing was rated the most complex and demanding sport in the world of sports.

According to The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury, 325 men and boys have died either directly or indirectly from playing football at the high school and college level between 1982-2008 (26 years). So how many football jocks go into a game with object "to send opponent into a coma?"

[H2O Man]

9. Nope.

It's not. I'm not being disrespectful, but rather, speaking as someone who is more familiar with the sport -- including both the good and the bad -- than anyone you will meet in your life.

There is definitely a degree of risk associated with boxing. However, it is far safer than almost any other sport. Statistics show, for example, that people are more likely to die playing football or golf, than boxing. And far more people sustain serious injuries participating in cheerleading, than in boxing.

Boxing is the art of self-defense. The onject is to hit, without getting hit. And, among ring deaths, the vast majority areactually the result of something that is supposed to protect boxers, but which actually poses a risk. I'll be curious to see if you can identify what that is.

[Chan790]

13. Shoddy gloves?

I really don't know...but I'm interested to find out. That or mouthguards...they're supposed to absorb the majority of the impact and reduce brain injury...if they fail, the act of being punched repeatedly in the head/face for the better part of an hour in three-minute-intervals would be traumatic regardless what other safety efforts were taken.

[H2O Man]

14. Both gloves and mouthpieces

are important, and when they are "faulty," can certainly lead to injuries. It's interesting to note that certain gloves are made in a manner that allows for a harder impact. Reyes gloves, made in Mexico, are the ones that most favor a puncher. When managers/trainers "mess" with gloves, by moving (or removing) padding, it creates dangers.

Everlast makes a few very good mouthpieces. The old, cheaper type are not nearly as good. The jaw takes a heck of an impact, and a good mouthpiece keeps the jaw from moving. That movement is what generally results in being knocked unconscious.

Hand-wraps are also important, of course. And the crap that Margarito was pulling -- loading his hand-wraps -- is nothing less than criminal.

But the surprising answer is the bottom rope. A high percentage of ring deaths can be attributed to a fighter being knocked down, and their neck hitting that rope. This causes a whiplash, with the head hitting the canvas far harder. This went unnoticed for years, until a retired fighter brought it to the attention of Angelo Dundee. Dundee attempted to get the easily accomplished safety measure -- move that single rope back a few inches -- done, but promoters refused to budge. They want the ring to appear a certain way, regardless of the safety issues involved.

[Cleita]

2. Too bad that the only way the underclasses can often get out from under

the poverty they were born into is by taking up sports that could injure them or kill them in the prime of their lives.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Sad, but that's what you get when you elect to get punched repeatedly in the head.

[maglatinavi]

4. boxing

It is a savage uncivilized sport. Mi pesame a la familia...

[H2O Man]

12. No, it's not.

Boxing has a downside. It is found in some promoters and managers, who care more for money than for boxers. I can say that, without question, boxers as a group are the most intelligent, kind, generous, and gentle people one could hope to meet. It's a beautiful sport, and like all good things, has a dark side. But it is a great sport.

[H2O Man]

10. A person can die

as the result of a single blow to the head. The number of deaths associated with such blows is rather low for boxing, a sport which is participated virtually every day of the year, around the globe.

[AtheistCrusader]

5. I can't believe boxing is still around with high-speed cameras

so you can see the skull move, as the face lags behind, or shock waves travelling all the way around the head through the flesh on every solid punch.

It's insane that anyone would willingly engage in this sport.

[H2O Man]

11. I respectfully disagree.

I believe that boxing should be mandatory. Especially for people who refer to boxers as "insane."