BoxRec

Southpaw Stylist wrote:He is partly to blame along with his corner.

I'm not sure wether you can blame a fighter for being a fighter.

Sometimes corners get criticised for pulling there men out but you just need to save the fighter from themselves at times, when Reid was pulled versus Lacy and Tsyzu versus Hatton it just makes you realise that something like this can always be around the corner.

KOJOE90 wrote:

Southpaw Stylist wrote:He is partly to blame along with his corner.

I'm not sure wether you can blame a fighter for being a fighter.

Ofcourse you can't. Its silly and unfair to blame Johnson for getting injured.

any update on his status?

steve689 wrote:Sometimes corners get criticised for pulling there men out but you just need to save the fighter from themselves at times, when Reid was pulled versus Lacy and Tsyzu versus Hatton it just makes you realise that something like this can always be around the corner.

And I read somewhere that Kostya had actually suffered some bleeding or bruising to the brain... though this seems to have been hushed up a bit.
I was just so relieved when the recent Wayne Mcculoch vs Oscar Larios bout was stopped when it was. Had it gone on longer who knows what might have happened. But again, that fight should have been stopped earlier imo....

Times like this make me feel guilty for being a fight fan.....

silkov wrote:Times like this make me feel guilty for being a fight fan.....

It's a tough sport to love at times. I agree.

silkov wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:

Southpaw Stylist wrote:He is partly to blame along with his corner.

I'm not sure wether you can blame a fighter for being a fighter.

Ofcourse you can't. Its silly and unfair to blame Johnson for getting injured.

No it ain't. From when the man planned to go and have a war with a noted war merchant then he's stupid.

Gumshield in, brains out.

really sad, I hope Leavander recovers,my prayers are with him.

Manos de Oro wrote:

silkov wrote:

Manos de Oro wrote:Direly predictable. The IBF and arguably Johnson himself are the only ones at 'fault' (if anyone's looking for who to blame).

Anyway, fingers crossed he pulls through.

How is Johnson at fault?...

Because he 'elected' to go to war with a slugger like Chavez. The reason for the inverted commas (and the word 'arguably' above), is I'm not sure Johnson at his age, with those reflexes, would have had that much choice in the matter. :(

Does anyone know if he boiled down to make the weight?It could be a factor

How is this the IBF's fault?

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:Does anyone know if he boiled down to make the weight?It could be a factor

Don't think so, he was a career lightweight.

And i think its stupid to blame johnson. As someones already pointed out, its taken him a long time to win this title, so who can blame him for wanting to keep hold of it? It was being too brave that was his downfall, not stupidity. His 'pension' fight with Morales fell through, so he obviously wanted to make a couple of defences of his title to make his money, but all the poor sod's ended up with is a life threatening injury.

Kevo wrote:

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:Does anyone know if he boiled down to make the weight?It could be a factor

Don't think so, he was a career lightweight.

And i think its stupid to blame johnson. As someones already pointed out, its taken him a long time to win this title, so who can blame him for wanting to keep hold of it? It was being too brave that was his downfall, not stupidity. His 'pension' fight with Morales fell through, so he obviously wanted to make a couple of defences of his title to make his money, but all the poor sod's ended up with is a life threatening injury.

Yea you can't really blame the fighter, if he quit on his stool the same people would brand him a 'quiting bum', hopefully he'll be alright. They seem to have caught it pretty early

Southpaw Stylist wrote:

silkov wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote: I'm not sure wether you can blame a fighter for being a fighter.

Ofcourse you can't. Its silly and unfair to blame Johnson for getting injured.

No it ain't. From when the man planned to go and have a war with a noted war merchant then he's stupid.

Gumshield in, brains out.

Where are your brains mate?... you're a prat who doesn't know what he's talking about.

silkov wrote:

Southpaw Stylist wrote:

silkov wrote: Ofcourse you can't. Its silly and unfair to blame Johnson for getting injured.

No it ain't. From when the man planned to go and have a war with a noted war merchant then he's stupid.

Gumshield in, brains out.

Where are your brains mate?... you're a prat who doesn't know what he's talking about.

Amen to that.

Johnson has been in my thoughts all day, I really pray he pulls through, i'm deeply saddened by this, and as sad as it is, having actually watched it live made it all the worse.

Terrible news, just hope the guy makes some sort of recovery.

I'm glad I missed the fight - from the punch stats it sounds like he was well behind on points? If that's the case, and he was taking a lot of head shots, you have to ask why his corner - the guys meant to be looking out for him - didn't rescue him at some point.

And you can't blame the fighter - with servere injuries like that, he could have been concussed early on, fighting through a haze and obviously not making the right decisions.

MightyWarrior wrote:Terrible news, just hope the guy makes some sort of recovery.

I'm glad I missed the fight - from the punch stats it sounds like he was well behind on points? If that's the case, and he was taking a lot of head shots, you have to ask why his corner - the guys meant to be looking out for him - didn't rescue him at some point.

And you can't blame the fighter - with servere injuries like that, he could have been concussed early on, fighting through a haze and obviously not making the right decisions.

Yeah, he was well behind. Chavez gassed quite early in the fight and took some breathers throughout, but he couldn't even outscore him then. He probably should have been pulled out about the 9th.

As for the blame/fighter thing, I'm sure there are some out there who know what Southpaw and myself are getting at. However, the main focus should be on Johnson's recovery at the present.

I know what you're saying Manos - he made a big mistake with his tactics...but what a price to pay.

Another reminder what a deadly sport this can be.

He must have thought he could over power the smaller man - I remember Leavander shocking Sharmba Mitchell 10 years ago, with an upset knockout.

Good luck to Leavander Johnson - really hope he pulls through.

I couldnt really put to much blame on the corner. I think he COULD have been pulled out around the 10th, because he was looked exhausted and you could see he wasnt going to pull anything out, but that he wasnt pulled out wasnt exactly a disgrace. Only when this bleeding on the brain came to light where people questioning the corner. It was a world title fight, and Johnson proud to be the holder after a long hard road towards it. As BN stated Johnson was 'bidding for financial security'. I hope he gets well soon

Latest article i can find on Leavander Johnson. No Update though

http://www.maxboxing.com/Gerbasi/Gerbasi091805.asp

how he could take so many hits without going down , i will never know. extremely brave man. hope he recovers soon.

It does bring the sport into question slightly, at least to me it does. While recently watching Ike Quartey-Verno Phillips and hearing the thud as every punch landed back and forth for the first time i thought to myself "This can't be doing you any good taking this constantly"

Johnson, in Coma, Shows Slight “Signs of Improvement” Says Promoter Lou DiBella from http://www.boxingranks.com

Boxer Leavander Johnson, who underwent brain surgery Saturday night after losing a brutal fight to Jesus Chavez, remained in a coma Sunday but had shown some signs of improvement, according to his promoter, Lou DiBella.
“The doctors say he is doing a little better than last night,” an emotionally-drained DiBella told Boxingranks.com today by phone from Las Vegas. “But he’s still in a coma. I’ve got to run.”

Johnson collapsed in his dressing room Saturday night after losing his IBF lightweight title to Chavez in an 11th-round TKO. He was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered he had he suffered a subdural hematoma, which is bleeding in the brain area.

The 35-year-old fighter’s brain swelled during surgery, and doctors used barbiturates to induce a coma to try to control it. His father Craig, who trains him, and brother Bill, his manager, have stayed at the hospital awaiting news.

Dave Itskowitch, vice president of DiBella Entertainment, updated Boxingranks.com from Las Vegas.

“The doctors say he’s still in the same condition, still in pretty bad shape,” said Itskowitch. “The numbers on the pressure on his brain are very slightly down.”

In Tokyo Saturday night, flyweight Masayuki Fujikaka also underwent brain surgery to remove a blood clot and he was still in a coma Sunday morning. Fujikaka was knocked out by Filipino Federico Cataubay and was taken to the dressing room on a stretcher and then rushed to the hospital.

After the 10th round, ringside physician Margaret Goodman checked on Johnson, but allowed the fight to continue.

“Basically, he was fine. He was alert,” Goodman told reporters. “I talked to him and there was no change in his neurological state.”

Goodman, who has been the chief neurological consultant to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for 10 years, has a reputation for stopping fights quicker than some promoters would like, according to a Nevada source.

More of the article on the above site

silkov wrote:

Southpaw Stylist wrote:

silkov wrote: Ofcourse you can't. Its silly and unfair to blame Johnson for getting injured.

No it ain't. From when the man planned to go and have a war with a noted war merchant then he's stupid.

Gumshield in, brains out.

Where are your brains mate?... you're a prat who doesn't know what he's talking about.

I know far more than you son. Sekkle your jaw...

I am amazed to read posts saying Johnson was at fault for taking the match up.

Perhaps he should have got a British promoter that would match him against opponents without a cat in hells chance of beating him and let him build up a record of 20 defences.

Johnson was a seasoned pro and wanted to face top opposition. Sadly ring injuries are very unpredictable. Michael Watson for example was giving Eubank a boxing lesson before the damage was administrated.

Everybody loved Castillo v Corales but weren't the beatings adminsitered far more savage than what Chavez done to Johnson.

In hindsite his age should have been considered more but I expect that if he had been pulled out any earlier then cries off premature stoppage would have resounded.

It is a tragic occupational hazzard and whitch hunts should not ensue everytime there is a ring tragedy. Paul Ingle was making a defence against a fighetr from a lower weight class that was not a reknowned puncher.Could anyone have predicted the outcome of that fight.

At least Johnson had immediate medical assistance on hand and that will increase his chances of a full recovery ten fold - That was a luxory that Michael Watson never had.

I wish Johnson a speedy recovery