THE FIGHT DOCTOR
Though seriously cut, Filip Hrgovic’s composure, along with sound corner advice, led him to victory.
stopped in the fourth round, and Cortez made the call. Chavez was bleeding from a laceration over his left eye, but it wasn’t the cut that stopped that fight. It was the punishment being inflicted. This speaks to knowing your fighters. The times where I felt fighters were at greater risk were when I had no knowledge of the fighter’s skill level, had never seen them compete or couldn’t access any of their prior bouts on TV or online. It’s the same for a doctor seeing a patient in their
know when to step in. Highly respected referee Harvey Dock first started working the pros in New Jersey in 2003, then New York in 2018: “No two fights are the same. Club shows are different than 12-round events.” He says referees need to be aware there’s an “A” and “B” side (where the “B” may not be as skilled or experienced). “I tell referees that you know what the promoter did [in matchmaking], so you don’t want to be the reason that fighters get hurt.”
to me,’ but now we ask the fighter to take a few steps to the right and to the left to test both sides of their brain.” In New York, the referee can call “time” and give the physician more than the one-minute break to examine a fighter of concern. Both Cortez and I remain against this practice. The one minute between rounds is almost always long enough for the physician to make a decision whether the fighter should continue. Plus, if the physician is concerned about a concussion, they are
has a prior injury that seems to have worsened – including a prior concussion, laceration or skeletal injury (such as a bad hand) – should make you ‘pull the trigger’ earlier.” A discussion on fighter cuts could require a book, but a cut itself is seldom the reason for an experienced ring physician to recommend a stoppage. “Cuts are never easy,” notes Homansky, “but one that is in a dangerous area
office for the first time: You want them to have their medical record. So knowing the fighter’s history is often a clue as to when a fight should continue or not. Unfortunately, boxing has no medical data bank or a place where the ring physician can access a fighter’s medical records from other jurisdictions where they might’ve competed. BoxRec (a boxing data app) is helpful, but it often doesn’t include sufficient medical details. Cortez always did his homework: “Look at their last fight. Did they have a TKO from headshots or cuts? You have to be mentally prepared. When I gave my prefight instructions in the dressing room, I would tell them, ‘First and foremost,
IS THERE A RIGHT TIME? By Dr. Margaret Goodman
– like where nerves or blood vessels run or one in a cosmetic area around the eyelid itself or lip that would be difficult to repair – need to stop.” In 2003, I recommended that a contest between Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor be stopped. Corrales sustained severe lacerations to his tongue, lip and cheek and was swallowing significant blood. Permitting that bout to continue placed Corrales at risk. As an official, it’s important to “sell your call” to the public. I was unable to do so. Sometimes it is simply not possible for the camera to convey what a ring physician is seeing up close. In the recent bout between Filip Hrgovic and David Adeleye, Hrgovic sustained a serious cut above his right eye in Round 2. He remained composed while his corner and trainer Abel Sanchez stopped the bleeding. This is an excellent example of when to not stop a bout on a cut. However, a cut can be instrumental in stopping a fight when a fighter has had enough. Dr. Homansky and referee Joe Cortez recognized that Julio Cesar Chavez had had enough in his 1996 bout with Oscar De La Hoya: Homansky recommended the bout be
M any would agree a boxing referee has the most difficult job of any sports official. The ring physician’s role runs a close second. Much of that pertains to determining the right time to stop or let a fight go. In many jurisdictions, the physician can only recommend to the referee that a bout stop, while in others the doctor can make that call. Nevertheless, these roles carry a burden few understand, and the decision is seldom clear-cut and instantaneous. I was never happier to see a fight stop at the right time – irrespective of who made the call. You always want a fight to proceed to its natural conclusion with the boxers determining the outcome. That means that if a fight needs to end from something other than a knockout/TKO, the best one to intervene is: 1) the corner, 2) the referee, 3) the ring physician – in that order. The decision is not always medical.
Sometimes the fighter has had enough! Their bravery is unmatched, but their body language, a facial expression or reaction to a cut, blood or knockdown can make the call. It just behooves the physician and referee to recognize the clues. “First and foremost, the indication to stop a fight is when one fighter is obviously dominant over the other (who has no chance of winning),” says Dr. Edwin “Flip” Homansky, former Nevada commissioner and chief physician. “Punishment in a fighter’s career is additive, and if they can be spared unnecessary head shots, everyone involved is doing them a favor to return another day. Secondly, blood, when it obstructs the fighter’s vision or the fighter is freaked out by his/her own blood, can necessitate a stop. If the corner is totally incompetent and not protecting their fighter, that’s a time to intervene. A fighter that you know that
Julio Cesar Chavez was injured in his 1996 fight with Oscar De La Hoya.
your safety is most important. I will watch out for you so you can go home to your family.’ I talk to the trainer and make certain they know they can stop the fight on their own.” I had the honor of working with Joe, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, for many years. We would meet ringside before the card began and discuss the fighters. “Know the rules and the doctors – including their experience,” notes Cortez. “Some doctors are good doctors, but not good ringside doctors!” Joe and I had barely noticeable signals when I sat ringside. We would just look at one another and
Dock is confident in the moment: “I have to take everything as it happens. I don’t communicate with the doctor before the fight. If I’m concerned, I have the doctor come up.” Dock, like Cortez, is a disciple of former referee and New Jersey Commissioner Larry Hazzard. “Hazzard taught me that if you need to confer with the doctor, then stop it. The fighter has had enough,” said Dock. “Over the last 10 years, I’ve been more direct in stopping fights.” Dock notes things have changed over the last seven to eight years in assessing a fighter during the round after a knockdown. “We used to just say ‘walk
giving the athlete more time to recover and risk further injury – and giving the fighter in the opposite corner more time to rest. Again, the philosophy of Larry Hazzard rings true: Stop the fight! The bottom line is that nothing surpasses fighter safety in such an inherently dangerous sport. And nothing can override the importance of experience on the part of the referee and ring physician.
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