Manny Pacquiao vs. Errol Spence - 21 August 2021 (OFF)

[maverick23]

$75 for Manny vs Ugas. Crazy. Isn’t that pretty much the annual cost of DAZN in the US?

[Ruthless-RKO]

$75 for Manny vs Ugas. Crazy. Isn’t that pretty much the annual cost of DAZN in the US?

At least the US are getting the fight..

We have to wait the weigh in then find out it’s on FITE.

[stujones]

Dan Rafael makes a good point - but social media and the like have a major impact on this.

1 - Joshua vs Fury was NEVER on.... yet it was being hyped as "soo soo close to signing" for about a year! When did Fury initially say a deal had been agreed. Even if it would have got signed how many months were we to wait from "formally agreed" to ring introductions - months and months and months..... plenty could have happened - so below.
2 - Pac vs Spence.... okay this is was negotiated quickly it seems - not much rumours of it being discussed and then boom - signed contracts..... BUT we as fans had to endure months and months of waiting from "signed" to ring introductions - again Why - this fight didn't need hype and actually didn't receive much hype.
3 - Canelo vs Plant - Again not signed - so why is it being talked about, interviewed about like it is close to being signed why are mythical dates being "announced".
4 - Fury vs Wilder 3 - okay this had the covid issue, but at least it was signed and boom fight was going to be done.

With the lightweights at least it is only journalist talk mainly doesn't seem to be any "negotiations" and I actually say fair enough then. Off course I would love to see it, but at least we as fight fans aren't getting false promises or "nearly there" because of it.

In this day an age we don't need to take an age to sell a fight - especially in Middle east - just securing the fight there means there is profit - doesn't really matter about fans etc.

I watched Roy Keane and avid boxing fan being asked who he tips between Joshua and Fury - his attitude showcases what is wrong with boxing at the moment - a lot of boxing fans are sharing Keane's views.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It’s the promoters, trying to keep things relevant.

If that means saying once in a while that ‘it’s close to being agreed” once a week, then they’ll keep saying it.

Keeping people talking regardless if it’s negative or positive talk.

[stujones]

It’s the promoters, trying to keep things relevant.

If that means saying once in a while that ‘it’s close to being agreed” once a week, then they’ll keep saying it.

Keeping people talking regardless if it’s negative or positive talk.

True, but this never used to happen to the same extent and don't need to keep it relevant until it is signed IMO. Keep it discussed yes - ala Pacquiao vs Mayweather and what is happening to the Lightweights now - don't need to know the ins and out of how many times Fury has read over the draft contract. It in fact, IMO, lessen the hype makes it an anti climax.

I know promoters, especially Eddie, will say that Fury vs Wilder 3 was not heading to do good numbers or a live gate - even by hints that this was the true reason for the pull out - but that wasn't IMO due to the lack of hype how quick things moved - that was due to the 2nd fight looking like a mismatch and Wilder looking like he has crapped his load and actually doesn't want to fight Fury really.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bernard Hopkins Suspicious & Skeptical Of Errol Spence's Eye Injury

Bernard Hopkins fought as a professional boxer for 28 years and until he was a month shy of his 52nd birthday.

The Hall of Fame fighter and former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Hopkins (55-8-2, 32 KOs) has pretty much seen and heard it all throughout his time in the sport, which nowadays also involves being a partner with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

The 56-year-old Philadelphia-bred Hopkins is currently in Frisco, Texas promoting the welterweight scrap slated to take place Saturday between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Egidijus Kavaliauskas on DAZN.

Naturally, conversations Hopkins participated in led to the bigger picture at 147 pounds, and the recent cancellation of the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.

Spence Jr. said he suffered a torn left retina and was forced to the sidelines just 11 days before the much-anticipated Aug. 21 scheduled bout. Instead, Yordenis Ugas has since stepped in as a late replacement opponent to fight the Filipino senator.

Spence posted a picture of his patched up left eye on social media on Wednesday one day after his injury was disclosed. It was identified and discovered that Spence had the impairment during a pre-fight medical examination by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in Las Vegas on Monday.

Hopkins was skeptical of Spence’s injury.

"The only thing I can do is listen to what you said to me and listen to what I heard. That’s conversation and I don’t know if it’s true, if it’s not true. I like Spence, I respect Spence. I know he is always ready for any challenge. I just think … I just have some suspicions about this whole thing. I just think the way it manifested and came out suddenly and so fast … I’ll just say stay tuned. If you hear something other than what everyone was given and what was told. I think there is more to the story than what it is. But if it is true, I wish him a speedy recovery. But I just have to say that first because I want to be the first one that people say, ‘what did I know that everybody else didn’t first know’ or ‘what did I know that a few people did know but nobody was bold enough or brave enough to say it,’” Hopkins told both Little Giant Boxing and KO Artist Sports.

Spence is expected to make a full recovery and return to the ring, PBC announced.

Hopkins even went as far as suggesting that Spence should provide proof of his ailments.

"Again, if it’s the case then I think we all should see it. It can be an eye issue. It can be business. It could be lack of. The whole thing … it’s been told and most people probably will believe it. Most people won’t dare to question it or ask for more details. I’m the type of person, I’ll show the X-ray to the world. If I’m ready to fight, I’ll say ‘look, it’s a hairline fracture or it’s a straight cut-through broken bone,’” said Hopkins.

“When it's … and let me tell you something; a detached retina or a slightly detached retina is no joke. You gotta take that seriously. Nobody wants to play and say they have something and don’t have it. It's like someone saying they got cancer and they don’t have it. So, I’m just saying, I’m always suspicious about things coming out of nowhere. And I know most people are gullible. They will eat it and they will take it and repeat it. I don’t repeat anything … I’m conscious of repeating anything that I don’t have more to it and I got other questions or I got other reasons to think different.

"I’ll say, if it is the case, I wish Errol Spence a speedy recovery. I think he’s a future Hall of Famer and is getting bad deals (injuries) if that’s the case on that issue. If it’s something else, then someone else will reveal it. If not, then it will go away and hopefully they will reschedule. But it’s nothing to play with.”

[maverick23]

Weird statement from B-Hop. There are easier excuses than a retinal injury.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Weird statement from B-Hop. There are easier excuses than a retinal injury.

Yeh, like Hopkins faked his injury against Dawson, to get a rematch and another payday

[Ruthless-RKO]

Doctors Weigh In On Errol Spence's Vision-Saving Torn Retina Discovery

When it was announced that Errol Spence Jr. had sustained a retinal tear and would not be able to fight Manny Pacquiao on August 21, there was a collective sense of disappointment that boxing had lost perhaps its biggest fight of the year. However, there should have also been a feeling of relief, as the injury being discovered ahead of time may have preserved the career of one of the sport’s brightest stars.

During a pre-fight medical examination, doctors with the Nevada State Athletic Commission discovered the tear and recommended emergency surgery. Spence flew home to Dallas and had surgery two days later.

“I was telling the doctor let me fight this fight and I’ll get surgery right after. Doc wasn’t (having) it,” said Spence in an Instagram post showing his bandaged eye.

Of course, going through with the fight was never a consideration, and it’s a good thing the doctor wasn’t having it. While athletic commissions across the world often draw the ire of the boxing public, this finding highlighted the importance of medical oversight in the sport and was an example of a commission acting firmly and appropriately. According to NSAC regulations, fighters who wish to compete in Nevada “must submit a dilated ophthalmological exam administered by a licensed ophthalmologist. This exam must be done more than 24 hours before the fight and is valid for one calendar year.”

This may sound like a no-brainer for commissions to require. But in a list of state medical requirements compiled by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports, there are a number of state commissions who either do not require an eye exam of any sort or do not offer confirmation that they do.

That means that had Spence-Pacquiao been staged in a different state, or if Spence had completed an eye exam within the calendar year but had sustained the tear since the test, the fight would be happening, putting Spence in serious danger.

“The retina is a membrane filled with light-sensing cells in the back of the eye. It acts like film in a camera to capture light and transmit it to the brain. If someone is hit hard enough, or the head swivels quick enough around, it can detach from the wall of the eye,” said Dr. Jonathan Gelber, a member of the Association of Ringside Physicians and the author of the book Tiger Woods's Back and Tommy John's Elbow: Injuries and Tragedies That Transformed Careers, Sports, and Society. “Untreated it can lead to severe consequences, even blindness. Consider Michael Bisping in MMA. He suffered a detached retina in his fight against Vitor Belfort and fought again three months later. Eventually he became blind in the eye and says he secretly fought with a glass eye for years.”

Spence offered on social media that he had “come back from worse,” referencing the horrific car crash that placed him in critical condition in October of 2019. Despite the grisly images from the scene and the speculation that Spence might never be the same physically, he showed no appreciable decline in either skill or durability in a comeback win over Danny Garcia in December of 2020.

Gelber speculates that following his surgery, Spence will be cleared for everyday activities in a couple of weeks. But in terms of a return to contact sport, the likely recovery period is several months. Provided a doctor clears him for combat once again, he’ll be able to make a full return.

As Gelber points out, this kind of prognosis would have been unthinkable 40 years ago.

“Sugar Ray Leonard listened to his doctors and had surgery. Fortunately, his retina wasn't completely detached, but he was starting to see spots and flashes of lights,” he said. “Before that, it was considered a career ending injury. Sugar Ray Leonard fought for another fifteen years.”

In 1982, Leonard was forced to back out of a scheduled world title defense against Roger Stafford after it was discovered he had a partially detached retina. Leonard sought out influential eye surgeon Dr. Ronald G. Michels for his operation. Although many believe Leonard is the first fighter to return to boxing after retinal surgery, he is actually only one of the first, but by far the most publicized and discussed. In fact, Leonard picked Michels because he operated on Ernie Shavers, who suffered a detached retina during a bout with Larry Holmes in 1979, enabling Shavers to fight another 21 times. A year later, then-WBC super welterweight champion Maurice Hope had retina surgery presumed to spell the end of his career, but returned to make two defenses of his title—the second of which was even paired with a closed circuit showing of Leonard-Roberto Duran in Wembley Arena.

The success of Leonard’s operation and his continued success in the ring began to change the industry’s previous hard line on fighters returning from retinal surgeries. Marvin Camel, boxing’s first cruiserweight champion, underwent retinal surgery under an assumed name in order to avoid being denied a license, and fought for close to 13 years afterwards before the California State Athletic Commission, which previously did not allow fighters with retinal detachments in their medical history to fight, became aware of Camel’s past.

These days, commissions provide much more leeway, even ones previously as strict as the CSAC. Abner Mares suffered a detached retina in 2008 and went on to fight in California many times. Unfortunately, Mares suffered another detachment in sparring in 2019 and while he has said he intends upon returning, he has been seen wearing sunglasses during his on-air duties for Showtime.

The list of fighters who have had to hang up their gloves due to eye injuries is long, even after the advancement in optical surgical procedures. Notable fighters such as Oscar Negrete, Nicola Adams, John Murray, Lee Purdy, Anthony Ogogo and more have seen their careers cut short in recent years due to injuries ranging from detached retinas to torn pupils.

In a study titled "A 16 year study of injuries to professional boxers in the state of Victoria, Australia," which documented injuries in boxing matches from 1985 to 2001 in Victoria, researchers found that 45.8% of all boxing injuries are to the eye region. It concluded that "a high rate (66%) of boxers suffer appreciable ocular trauma that may go unrecognized in injury surveillance studies,” which can perhaps explain the number of ex-fighters who have developed cataracts over the years. In 2003, the British Journal of Sports Medicine unsurprisingly concluded that a boxer is 10 times more likely to suffer an ocular lesion than the general public.

It is important to distinguish between Spence’s injury, a retinal tear, and a retinal detachment. While both are severe on their own and can lead to blindness, a detachment would be considered more worrisome. In a general sense, one wants to repair retinal tears so that they don’t turn into detachments. However, that would have been a real possibility for Spence had his affliction gone undetected.

"I would argue that the timing of this fight and his pre-fight physical might have saved (Spence’s) vision," said Dr. Brian Sutterer in a video posted to his YouTube channel on August 11. "Overall Spence is extremely fortunate that this is discovered. This is a perfect example of why we do these eye exams. We're trying to catch these things. Because if he wasn't checked, he went and fought, he gets another eye injury, now it can be a full-blown detachment that can threaten his vision, which goes beyond boxing."

The good news is that according to Dr. Gelber, retinal tear operations have high success rates in terms of sustaining the integrity of the eye moving forward.

“Like any surgery there are re-tear rates but they are generally pretty low,” said Gelber, while offering that “it’s possible (the rates could be) higher with certain at-risk activities like fighting.”

For now, Spence can still plan on a future in the ring, but in his Instagram announcement seemed to put the situation in a healthy perspective.

“Being able to see my kids grow is the most important thing to me,” said Spence.