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The Dreaded Subdural Hematoma
The Dreaded Subdural Hematoma
In 2016, I wrote an article for TSS titled, “Concussion: Now It’s Boxing’s Turn.” In the article, published on Aug. 16, I described the work of Dr. Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu who became famous for his work on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) on football players using former Pittsburgh Steeler “Iron Mike” Webster as a key part of his study.
Six years later, Tris Dixon’s timely book, “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing,” was published. In the book, Dixon wrote:
ââŠThis is boxing.â CTE is actually punch-drunk syndrome. It was a big epiphany for me: âHang on, the NFL are addressing this but we do nothing in boxing.â Iâd been in boxing 25 years and I didnât know about CTE, tau protein and things that should be a staple. Fireworks went off in my head: âWow, these guys worrying about the NFL could be worrying about boxing, which is far more dangerous.â The NFL concussion debate started with The Mike Webster case in 2000. Boxing turned its back for nine decades and we havenât had our Webster moment yet.â (emphasis mine)
To my delight, Tris affirmed what I had concluded in my 2016 article; to wit, a connection between Dementia Pugilistica and CTE existed. In fact, they might be the same.
January 2010
Before I wrote the 2016 article, I had a somewhat traumatic if not unique experience for a boxing writer—and this brings me to January 9, 2010.
While dining out out with my wife, I became incredibly thirsty. The following day I began to get disoriented with a splitting headache and short-term memory loss. I recall I could not put my watch on, type, or connect the buttons on my shirt. Something was wrong. After experiencing some confusion, I drove to my ophthalmologistâs nearby office at Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire, thinking something was going on with my eye pressure. He took one look and immediately had me wheeled to emergency. He thought I was having a stroke and he was not far off.
 I was then given an MRI after which I was Informed that the results showed I had a brain bleed and that I would be taken to the excellent Maine Medical Complex in Portland, Maine, where they were equipped to attend to the matter.
The 65-minute ambulance ride over icy roads (I chose ambulance over helicopter) was harrowing. The attendant asked my name and date of birth every five minutes. He also gave me a shot of something that relaxed me. His intent was to keep me conscious.
We finally reached the hospital (a large complex) and I was rolled to ICU on a stretcher and then, after a short while, assigned to a room where I met the operating surgeon, Dr. Joseph Alexander. I asked how serious a matter this was and he assured me that things would come out âjust fine.â I also asked if this is what happens to boxers who suffer a subdural hematoma, and he replied, âif they are luckyâ inferring that if they lose consciousness and/or a blood clot is present, things can get very tricky. Thankfully, neither one was involved in my case.
 I was then prepared for the operation. My wife was with me the entire time staying in the nearby Regency Hotel.
I was quickly rolled into the operating room and commenced talking with the  anesthesiologists. Suddenly, I went out like a light and the operation began to resolve the dangerously increasing pressure caused by the brain bleed.
I woke up in a bed with high rails and a tube in my head (see photo above) but I WOKE UP. The doctor said that when they opened up my skull, the blood gushed out like a geyser. They also had to remove part of my skull (see photo) to help ease the pressure of the swelling.
In retrospect, I had taken a bad fall a few months back. I had gotten out of bed too fast and fainted, landing hard on my head. Whether this was the cause could not be determined because there was some âold bloodâ in my skull, but I believe that it was. At any rate, I was confined to a nice private room for four days and subsisted on horrific hospital cuisine. I recall that a terrible earthquake had struck Haiti so I can accurately pinpoint the dates of these events.
 The only discomfort I experienced was a headache and a bad reaction to OxyContin in which I became a jumping jack. It was horrible, but it was soon replaced by something that worked, Finally, on the fourth day, they removed the draining tube from my head and stitched the hole.
Research
During my time at the hospital, I made it a point to learn as much as I could about subdural hematomas. In particular, I was interested to see where my situation ranked in the scheme of things.
I found that speed is essential and that after a short time without blood flowing to the brain, unconsciousness takes place. Apparently, after a few short minutes without the oxygen that the fresh blood supplies, the brain begins to shut down. And then after about five-six minutes, the result can be irreversible brain damage or death. This was not my case, thank God, as the swelling of the brain did not cut off access to blood by squeezing shut the arteries and blood vessels that supply it.
Apparently, If the brain swells larger than the skull, bad things can happen. For example, the sign of blood coming out of the ears should be a warning sign whether in boxing or otherwise.
I had become an amateur expert on brain injuries thanks to reading and discussing the topic. I learned that my situation was on the lower end of the severity index, but I also learned that the critical variable of speed translates in boxing to an absolute need for competent medical assistance at ringside — oxygen, stretchers, and a waiting ambulance.
In this connection, the death of Willie Classen in 1979 begs to be reexamined. So does Greg Pageâs case in 2002 where there was no ambulance, no team of paramedics, nor oxygen, all of which were required by law. The ringside doctor, Manuel Mediodia, wasn’t licensed in Kentucky and was under suspension in Ohio.
Their stories cannot be forgotten, nor should the 2013 case of Magomed Abdusalamov or the bizarre ring fatality of South African Simiso Buthelezi, a more recent example.
My hospital stay then ended, my son arrived and took me back home to New Hampshire where I started the rehab process and, sooner rather than later, fully recovered.
 I had used up one of my nine.
October 2017
Unfortunately, the issue popped up again in 2017 when one of my sisters suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of being struck by a truck in Las Vegas. After emergency surgery could not bring her back, she was put on life support machines. I knew more than most what was going on and I knew what needed to be done.
Upon arriving to Las Vegas I immediately went to the hospital and conversed with the neurologist. After staying at her side for two days to give her many friends and relatives a chance to say goodbye and/or to pray, I had the life support machines disconnected and remained alone with her until she passed about an hour later. It was another horrific incident that added to my body of knowledge on brain injuries. I think of her every day.
As far as boxing is concerned, the danger of a subdural hematoma is omnipresent, and it doesnât discriminate: â
 Ted Sares enjoys writing about boxing and can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com
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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the âWow Factorâ in Riyadh
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the âWow Factorâ in Riyadh
Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.
The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds â the next five to some observers â were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.
Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.
The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.
An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.
Moses Itauma
Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another âwowâ performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.
His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.
Bohachuk-Davis
In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.
Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.
Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.
Fisher-Allen
In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.
Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis âKing Kongâ Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.
In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.
He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Other Bouts of Note
In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotlandâs Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.
A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.
In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.
McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.
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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.
The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.
Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.
The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.
That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.
The first fight was a near âpick-âemâ affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Furyâs right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)
Tomorrowâs sequel, bearing the tagline âReignited,â finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after todayâs weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)
Given the politics of boxing, anything âundisputedâ is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Duboisâs eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its âregularâ heavyweight champion.
Another difference between tomorrowâs fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).
Tomorrowâs semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCannâs VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.
The focal points of tomorrowâs undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.
Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.
Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabiaâs General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of âmajor leagueâ boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.
We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the âA-side,â no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, âWho does the promoter need?â
The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.
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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguiaâs promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.
Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.
Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.
Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canadaâs previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.
There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Â Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.
It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.
Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached â10,â, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.
At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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