‘Give our boxers a chance’

Unlike the luckless Karlo Maquinto, Johnriel Casimero returns to a grand welcome today after capturing the IBF light flyweight crown and escaping from a rioting, barbaric Argentine mob over the weekend.
The unbeaten Maquinto never stood a chance. He fell victim to a barbarity perpetuated by incompetent officials who worked his fateful bout.
You don’t need sixth sense to know Maquinto, although he was able to get up, should have been halted after suffering a numbing knockdown in the second round. The combination he took to the chin was clearly lethal, buckling his knees under and sending him cross-eyed.
Of course, we can’t solely blame the referee if he had not been competent enough to determine whether a punch, or a combination, is lethal or not.
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A congressional probe on the latest ring death was opened yesterday, but we have some misgivings on this practice of looking again at what had gone wrong—only after a tragedy had struck.
Even Manny Pacquiao has reportedly agreed that there’s an urgent need for sweeping changes.
There should be redirection and reformation in the way the Games and Amusements Board boxing division has been conducting prizefight affairs in the country.
For example, it was an anomaly how supposedly responsible GAB people claimed Maquinto’s death was, pure and simple, the result of an accident.
For the record, it was already a riot after these officials suddenly discovered there was no oxygen tank on hand at ringside.
“Better late than sorry,” said veteran international referee Bruce McTavish, who refused to work the bout after Maquinto’s drawn fight until an oxygen tank had been brought in.
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We sought competent people, some of whom claimed there had apparently been gross dishonesty on the part of those responsible for the tragic bout.
“I am saddened with the GAB statement that they don’t need further improvement with the system,” says Dr. Aldwin Adigue. “Accidents do happen, that’s why we should always prepare for them.”
How?
“We must know what’s the proper treatment for every medical situation possible during a fight.”
Dr. Adigue, son of former boxing champion Pedro Adigue Jr., says he’s not trying to blame but to inform.
“I had had my share of being a ringside physician when I was still doing my residency training in surgery. I very well know that nobody wants these things to happen.”
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Dr. Adigue says that when a boxer loses consciousness during a fight, they should rule out intracerebral bleed first and must manage the patient accordingly.
“I read an interview of Mr. (Aquil) Tamano in the newspaper where he said that oxygen would not have helped because it was a brain injury. The problem with brain injury is the continued increase in intracranial pressure brought about by the blood collecting in the head and the edema of the brain. The way to treat this is evacuate the blood and wait for the edema to subside.”
Adds Dr. Adigue: “For the operation to be done, since most of the medical centers in the Philippines have no capability of opening up the skull, wait for the edema to subside before closing it up. Patients are usually operated only if their glasgow coma scale is around 5 to 8, or depending on the existing protocol of the hospital. So the initial and immediate treatment of the patient matters a lot.
Immediate treatment comprises the following: 1. Intubation and hyperventilation; hyperventilation with oxygen decreases the swelling reaction of the brain to trauma. 2. Elevation of the head; with the help of gravity-less water will go to the brain contributing to the edema. 3. Placing an IV (Intravenous) line and giving mannitol, this will diurese the patient, thus pushing out the body water that contributes to the edema of the brain.”
His final cry and call: “Let’s give these boxers a fighting chance not just in the ring. When these accidents happen, it’s not them alone fighting but the people responsible for these fights as well.”
In short, it’s not just the boxers who should do the preparation and training.