Tubagus Sakti Tragedy Could Have Been Prevented
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Seventeen year old professional boxer Tubagus Sakti of Indonesia died in the ring this past January 2013 after being stopped in the eighth round of a scheduled 12 rounder against Ichal Tobida. With a record of 2-3-2, Sakti seemed to be winning the round-and the bout-before the tables turned. The referee-Gondolbus Borlak-had perfect timing when he interceded in a corner to stop the bout. Sakti had taken both hands in a corner and held onto the ropes. He was done. But the referee did not stop Tobida’s punches from coming in.
Indonesian boxer Tubagus Sakti dies in the ring, YouTube video clip, January 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sPGCEmwnW8
Tobida’s power punches to the head at full impact from short range had lethal effect, several going over the referee’s outstretched arms to finish the target. It was at that moment I realized I had taken the abilities and talent of many of the top referees I know in the New York City and New Jersey areas for granted. If the referee were Steve Smoger, Benjy Esteves Jr., Ricardo Vera, Earl Brown or Ron Lipton, this tragedy would have been prevented before it occurred.
In professional sports, sports fans like the good, the bad, the ugly and the controversy. Rarely however does man ever wish to confront the tragedies of professional sports, such as a racing car crash, a knockout victim, a football hit, a hockey fight, a wrestling tragedy. We just do not want to hear the dark side. In has been my experience as a sports writer that we have to experience the dark side before we can see the light. This is part of the balance of being a sports writer.
One strong analogy to come of my mind after to the Tubagus Sakti tragedy is to set a minimum age of 18 years old before allowing an amateur boxer or wrestler to turn professional. Sakti was still a child, a minor as I see it, and we must all learn from this tragedy to set higher standards in professional boxing and wrestling, and not just leave it to Indonesia. Sakti’s death is as fresh in my mind as former World Middleweight champion Gerald McClellan’s condition is now. When things go wrong in sports and in life, caring individuals take action, initiating the necessary steps to prevent a future tragedy from occurring by updating the rules of the game. The Sakti tragedy forces us to reanalyze the rules surrounding contact sports, and make adjustments to protect athletes in the future.
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