A Prayer For Braydon Smith, Australian Boxing’s Latest Tragedy
By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
From Benny Kid Paret to Leavander Johnson, boxing fans in the New York and New Jersey area have experienced their share of tragedy, watching championship caliber boxers fall in the ring. Typically, Australia is not a location where boxing fans worldwide would expect a tragedy to occur. Australia is a site, like Thailand, Japan, and other Far East locales, where locale fighters always win short of a ten count knockout.
For a foreign fighter to get a decision in Australia, let alone a Filipino prospect, one would prefer to believe divine intervention or incredible luck would be the cause. It has happened in the past. Once beaten heavyweight boxer Malik Scott, believed to have been downgraded to trial horse journeyman status after losing to Deontay Wilder, won on all three scorecards against contender Alex Leapai at Logan Metro Sports Centre in Crestmead, Australia, last October, only six months after Leapai had fought Wladimir Klitschko for the world heavyweight title.
Braydon Smith, a 12-0 undefeated 23 year old featherweight prospect from Toowoomba, Australia, lost a ten round decision to John Vincent Moralde, a 12-0 super bantamweight prospect moving up in weight from Davao City, Philippines, for the vacant World Boxing Council Asian Boxing Council Continental Featherweight title in Toowoomba, Australia, on March 14, 2015. Scoring was 99-91, 98-92, 97-93 for Moralde. After the bout, Smith, at the local hospital in Toowoomba, collapsed, and had to be airlifted out to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in a medically induced coma on life support as Toowoomba had no neurosurgeon on staff to operate. Smith died there is Brisbane two days later.
Senior medical officials in the Queensland Australia geographic area where Smith died have called for a ban of boxing there. Smith’s family called for the placement of a neurosurgeon in Toowoomba to prevent further tragedies from occurring.
The best statement which can be made is to say a prayer for Braydon Smith, a promising young featherweight boxer in his final year of law school, who promoted the sport of boxing as a safe sport. Smith knew the risks, as all boxers due. Appropriate medical facilities should always be within distance of professional boxing cards, in the event of a serious injury, to prevent further tragedy. As in the case of Smith and others, many boxing cards which offer an ambulance are still unprepared for a more serious injury local type hospitals cannot handle when time is of the essence to safe an athlete’s life. The lesson learned should not be a war of the words between sides, but a call to action to require superior medical facilities and physicians of all specialty types near professional athletic events. Since this is not a requirement, the possibility of tragedy at all sporting events remains real, and it is something athletic officials need to be cognizant of at all times.
COMMENTS
English