Boxer's death rekindles safety debate
High school boxer Kim Jung-hee’s funeral took place in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday. / Yonhap
By Kang Hyun-kyung
High school boxer Kim Jung-hee, 16, died on Oct. 9, about a month after he was hospitalized for a cerebral hemorrhage following the semifinal match of the 48th National Boxing Championship in the land-locked mid-western county of Cheongyang.
His death stirred a debate about the safety and protection guidelines for boxers.
On Sept. 7, the light welterweight boxer collapsed while resting after he lost the match by decision of judges. He was taken to Dankook University Hospital in the nearby city of Cheonan via helicopter and sent to the intensive care unit there. After an hour and 40 minutes of surgery, he was pronounced brain dead. He died about a month later.
His funeral took place in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday.
Choi Hee-bok, the managing director of the Boxing Association of Korea (BAK) consisting of amateur boxers, said Kim’s death “shocked” his fellow boxers.
“Many boxers around his age know him very well because they practiced together at Yongin University and Gyeonggi Physical Education High School as well. His fellow boxers were shocked by his death and some of them are pondering if they should quit the sport because of the danger,” he said.
Choi said risks lurk in every boxing match because boxing is a combat sport.
“Speaking honestly, our association’s role to prevent such tragedies is very limited,” he said. “All we can do is tell those who train boxers not to send them into the ring if their physical condition is not good enough. We also encourage them to do regular medical tests on the boxers. That’s all we can do.”
During bouts, boxers are exposed to a variety of injuries, including cuts, bruises, sprains, strains and fractures. According to the Physio Works website, the most concerning damage is brain injury caused by a punch. According to the website, the punch impact rattles the brain within the skull and causes the brain to act abnormally for a brief period of time, resulting in concussion. It can result in unconsciousness, brief loss of short-term memory and other symptoms.
Kim is the fifth boxer to die from injuries sustained in the ring since the late Kim Duk-ku (1955-1982) who died after a fight against Ray Mancini.
After a brutal fight against the defending champion Mancini in Las Vegas, Kim collapsed and fell into a coma and was sent to Desert Springs Hospital in Paradise, Nevada. He was found to have a subdural hematoma consisting of 100 cc of blood in his skull. He died four days later. His death prompted a set of reforms in boxing rules. The number of rounds for world titles was reduced from 15 to 12.
The death of light flyweight champion Choi Yo-sam (1972-2008), which came a quarter century after Kim’s death, prompted new safety measures for boxers in Korea. He successfully defended the WBC Intercontinental Flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Heri Amol in December 2007. After the bout, he collapsed in the ring and was taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital to undergo emergency brain surgery. He died in February, about a month after brain death was pronounced. He was 35.
Choi’s death caused a stir because of inappropriate first aid performed by a ringside doctor. An orthopedist, not a neurosurgeon, served as a ringside doctor during the fight. Since his death, the boxing authorities have assigned a neurosurgeon for all boxing matches.
The Korea Boxing Commission (KBC) has strengthened safety rules to better protect boxers. It has required all boxers to turn in their medical cards to the organization before they fight. If their medical records fail to meet certain conditions the commission has set, the KBC can cancel the match. The KBC also obligated all professional boxers who are 37 or older to submit the certificates of their CT and MRI scans to the organization. Ringside physicians are brought to check thoroughly each boxer’s health status after severe fights are over.
Such measures, however, haven’t stopped incidents.
A KBC staffer, who asked not to be named, said as long as boxing exists, preventing such accidents seems to be a daunting job because of the nature of the combat sport.
When asked if the KBC has any plans to further strengthen safety rules for boxers, former WBA super-bantamweight champion Hong Soo-hwan, who now serves as KBC president, declined to comment. He said the late Kim was an amateur boxer and thus the BAK is the right organization to answer that question.