{"id":192295,"date":"2018-12-03T22:04:27","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T03:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=192295"},"modified":"2018-12-03T22:04:27","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T03:04:27","slug":"knockout-that-left-montreal-boxer-in-coma-prompts-questions-in-medical-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/12\/03\/knockout-that-left-montreal-boxer-in-coma-prompts-questions-in-medical-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Knockout that left Montreal boxer in coma prompts questions in medical community"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The goal of boxing is to inflict damage on the opponent, often by knocking him unconscious. (File Photo:<\/a> @AdonisSuperman\/Twitter<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MONTREAL \u2014 One of the doctors who worked the boxing match Saturday night in Quebec City that left Adonis Stevenson hospitalized in an induced coma said he and his colleagues are at a loss to medically justify the sport.<\/p>\n

The goal of boxing is to inflict damage on the opponent, often by knocking him unconscious. And that carries important risks for severe head trauma, Jean Dore said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can’t say we can justify it,\u201d Dore said in an interview. \u201cIt’s a question a lot of doctors are asking, especially doctors within the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Monday evening, Stevenson, the 41-year-old Montreal-based fighter known to his fans as \u201cSuperman,\u201d remained in intensive care in a Quebec City hospital after a knockout by Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine. In a statement, the hospital described the fighter’s condition as stable.<\/p>\n

Despite his misgivings, Dore said he prefers to remain ringside rather than leave the sport.<\/p>\n

One of his patients was New Brunswick boxer David Whittom, who died last March after being in an induced coma for 10 months following a knockout blow.<\/p>\n

Dore chooses to keep attending fights, he said, \u201cto better manage the situation and to try to prevent these events.\u201d On Saturday, Dore was a backup physician and did not directly care for Stevenson.<\/p>\n

Dr. Charles Tator, a neurosurgery professor at University of Toronto and a director at Canadian Concussion Centre, said it pains him to watch boxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can’t really watch combat sports because it bothers me so much when I see the direct hits to the head,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

He said it’s \u201ctragic\u201d that people willingly get into the ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s so many hits to the head that could be damaging, that I can’t take it as a brain surgeon, knowing what happens inside,\u201d Tator continued.<\/p>\n

Alain Ptito, a brain trauma expert at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, said it is impossible to make the sport safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are knocking out someone, you are essentially damaging their brain,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

A fighter who stumbles and crashes onto the mat after a knockout punch has suffered trauma to the area around the brain stem, which governs vigilance and consciousness, he explained.<\/p>\n

Injuries are cumulative, Ptito added, meaning the more one gets hit in the head, the greater the likelihood they will have an early degenerative disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoxing should be abolished as a sport,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn’t hesitate to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But any pressure by doctors to ban boxing would trigger resistance from those who say government has no place interfering with consenting adults who understand the risks of professional boxing.<\/p>\n

In Montreal, one of the top boxing cities on the continent, the pushback would be particularly strong, said TSN 690 boxing analyst Matt Casavant.<\/p>\n

Fighters such as Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal, and Stevenson are major sporting figures in the city and are embraced by fans, said Casavant, who also works bouts as a cutman treating fighters between rounds.<\/p>\n

Boxing transcends sport, in part because of the storylines of troubled men who make something of their lives, Casavant said. Stevenson, for instance, served jail time for being a pimp. The boxer has in the past credited boxing for turning his life around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese fighters, especially in North American culture \u2014 do not necessarily choose this path,\u201d Casavant said. \u201cThis is their best way of getting out of trouble \u2014 of making a living for their family. Boxing knows what it is. It’s not trying to hide the fact it has big-time risks and health concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sylvera \u201cSly\u201d Louis, co-owner of Underdog Boxing Gym in downtown Montreal, said boxing changed his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoxing lets me express my anger \u2014 my anger and my desire to create and to compete,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cIt allows me to be nice (outside the ring.)\u201d<\/p>\n

Louis, 36, who still competes professionally, said seeing what happened to Stevenson was a reminder of the dangers of the ring. \u201cSometimes when I’ve gotten hit, my ego will want to pretend that it didn’t hurt me,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’re all proud and sometimes our pride can get us hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Louis started boxing at 16, and he says it makes him happy to see people he’s come up with over the years doing well, thanks in large part to the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not in jail and we’re not dead,\u201d he said. \u201cSome have families and most are doing good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MONTREAL \u2014 One of the doctors who worked the boxing match Saturday night in Quebec City that left Adonis Stevenson …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":192296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","category-sports","mauthors-giuseppe-valiante","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}