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Boxer dies from brain injury sustained in title fight http://sports.yahoo.com/b...&type=lgns
By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Boxing Writer September 22, 2005 LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Boxer Leavander Johnson, critically injured in the biggest fight of his life, died Thursday at a hospital where he was rushed with bleeding on the brain. The 35-year-old's kidneys had failed and his heart was not pumping on its own when family members decided to remove him from life support, his doctor said. ``We had no further mode to improve his prognosis, so the family very correctly made the decision to withdraw care,'' Dr. William Smith said. ``He passed away very peacefully.'' Johnson collapsed on his way to the dressing room after taking a beating in his IBF lightweight title defense Saturday night against Jesus Chavez. Doctors were operating on him within 40 minutes to relieve pressure on his brain, but he never came out of a medically induced coma. Smith said he performed a second operation Monday to remove a blood clot but Johnson was too gravely injured to survive. ``He suffered a very severe injury. The problem is that the injury was to the brain itself,'' Smith said. ``In some cases, the punishment is absorbed by the skull, but in this young man's case, the brain absorbed the punishment itself.'' Johnson's promoter, Lou DiBella, said Johnson's family members were present when he died. Johnson's father was his trainer and his brother was his manager. ``What a wonderful guy this was. And I've never met anybody so proud or so grateful to achieve his dream,'' DiBella said. ``If there's any solace to be taken in this, it's that he died doing what he loved. He died a champion.'' Doctors were initially unsure Johnson would make it through the night after being injured during the fight at the MGM Grand hotel-casino, but the next day Smith expressed cautious optimism after tests showed improvement in brain function. Johnson, who was from Atlantic City, N.J., spent 16 years as a professional fighter before finally winning a version of the 135-pound title in June. But, in his first defense, he took a beating from Chavez before finally being stopped by a flurry of punches in the 11th round. He walked from the ring, but on the way to the dressing room began showing signs of an injury. He was rushed to University Medical Center where Smith operated on him to relieve pressure from a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain. ``There'll be a lot of people who'll take pokes at boxing for this. We can be better for protecting our athletes. But this was not a situation where anyone failed Leavander Johnson,'' said DiBella, who knew Johnson for more than 10 years. ``It was just God's will. It's a sport that's inherently dangerous.'' DiBella said Johnson's father, Bill, said Chavez was ``blameless in this tragic situation.'' Chavez visited Johnson in the hospital the day after the fight. Smith said it was not clear whether one punch or an accumulation of punches in the fight caused a swelling so pronounced that it pushed Johnson's brain from the right side of his skull to the left. He said doctors also don't know for sure whether fighters who take a lot of punches during their career are more susceptible to brain damage. Johnson was in his 41st pro fight and had more than 100 amateur fights. ``It's a tough question to answer 100 percent. Certainly, some evidence suggests repeated blows over time will make a person able to resist a major injury less well,'' Smith said. ``His reserves for recovering from this were much less than had he never had taken the blows over time.'' Johnson's death follows the July 2 death of Mexican boxer Martin Sanchez, who died a day after he was knocked out by Rustam Nugaev of Russia in a super lightweight fight in Las Vegas. That death was the fifth in the ring since 1994 in the city. Before Sanchez died, two other fighters suffered brain injuries but survived after fights this year in Las Vegas. | |
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you never hear this happening in extreme fighting. I guess it's not that extreme. [Edited 9/22/05 20:15pm] | |
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lilgish said: you never here this happening in extreme fighting. I guess it's not that extreme.
Especially since they softened up the rules to get back on TV. tA  Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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every single boxer knows that it is a viscious sport, with potentially fatal results. I salute him. | |
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R.I.P. Ὅσον ζῇς φαίνου
μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶ τὸ ζῆν τὸ τέλος ὁ χρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ.” | |
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That's just ironic that he died after having a fight with Jesus.  | |
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condolences to his family and yes that is ironic. 
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. Maya Angelou | |
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lilgish said: you never hear this happening in extreme fighting. I guess it's not that extreme.
[Edited 9/22/05 20:15pm] Mainly because extreme fighting doesn't go as many rounds as boxing does. It's the accumulation of hits to the head that primarily cause brain injury. "But what of black women? . . . I most sincerely doubt if any other race of women could have brought its fineness up through so devilish a fire." -- W.E.B. Du Bois -- | |
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TheCrucialExperience said: lilgish said: you never hear this happening in extreme fighting. I guess it's not that extreme.
Mainly because extreme fighting doesn't go as many rounds as boxing does. It's the accumulation of hits to the head that primarily cause brain injury. Also, it's rare to see to fighters standing for the whole fight exchanging punches, it usually goes to the floor after a couple of minutes (at least in UFC). | |
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this is very rare in boxing too.
"not a fan"  yeah...ok | |
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TMPletz said: That's just ironic that he died after having a fight with Jesus.
i know that name has to effect the his opponent's game a little bit. i wonder if Jesus will retire after this? | |
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sinisterpentatonic said: TheCrucialExperience said: Mainly because extreme fighting doesn't go as many rounds as boxing does. It's the accumulation of hits to the head that primarily cause brain injury. Also, it's rare to see to fighters standing for the whole fight exchanging punches, it usually goes to the floor after a couple of minutes (at least in UFC). Yup. "But what of black women? . . . I most sincerely doubt if any other race of women could have brought its fineness up through so devilish a fire." -- W.E.B. Du Bois -- | |
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TMPletz said: That's just ironic that he died after having a fight with Jesus.
Im sorry but that was funny. 
Rest in peace, though. | |
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sinisterpentatonic said: TheCrucialExperience said: Mainly because extreme fighting doesn't go as many rounds as boxing does. It's the accumulation of hits to the head that primarily cause brain injury. Also, it's rare to see to fighters standing for the whole fight exchanging punches, it usually goes to the floor after a couple of minutes (at least in UFC). Then it's all about trying to crack craniums... 
...with elbows and fists while the opponent is relatively stationary. 
However since their rule changes, the refs jump in pretty quickly if they feel somebody's in trouble and hasn't tapped out. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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True, true.
come to think of it, i've seen some wicked stuff go down during those matches. during the first ones i think i might of even seen a couple of them cats get beat within a inch of death. | |
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sinisterpentatonic said:
True, true.
come to think of it, i've seen some wicked stuff go down during those matches. during the first ones i think i might of even seen a couple of them cats get beat within a inch of death. Aah yes. The early days... 
...featuring "The Greatest of All-Time" - Royce Gracie. 
The only 180 lb man to break a 300 lb man's arm. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: sinisterpentatonic said:
True, true.
come to think of it, i've seen some wicked stuff go down during those matches. during the first ones i think i might of even seen a couple of them cats get beat within a inch of death. Aah yes. The early days...
...featuring "The Greatest of All-Time" - Royce Gracie.
The only 180 lb man to break a 300 lb man's arm.
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 
Have you watched it since the arrival of 'The Gracie Killer'Kazushi Sakuraba? This cat is like the Michael Jordan of the UFC! he's come up with some pretty inventive moves. Last fight i saw with him he dislocated Royce's older brothers arm.  it was pretty ugly and he didn't even want to tap out, the ref called it. | |
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sinisterpentatonic said:
No I haven't kept up with it since they "sissified" the competion. I'll keep an eye out (not literally) for this guy though. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: sinisterpentatonic said:
No I haven't kept up with it since they "sissified" the competion. I'll keep an eye out (not literally) for this guy though. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 you know most video stores now stock UFC.  | |
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sinisterpentatonic said: you know most video stores now stock UFC. Cute. I'll check into it. Yeah the Gracie clan doesn't believe in tapping out like little girls. Broken arm or no. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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