 |
| Kill or be killed: Kim wrote these words on the wall of his hotel room. |
Kim Duk-Koo (January 8, 1959 – November 17, 1982) was a South Korean boxer who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini. His death sparked a number of reforms in the sport aimed to better protect the health of fighters.
Mancini went through a period of reflection, as he blamed himself for Kim's death. After friends helped him by telling him that it was just an accident, Mancini went on with his career, though still haunted by Kim's death. His promoter, Bob Arum, said Mancini "was never the same" after Kim's death. Two years later, Mancini lost his title to Livingstone Bramble.
Kim's mother flew from Korea to Las Vegas to be with her son before the life support equipment was turned off. Three months later, she took her own life by drinking a bottle of pesticide. The bout's referee, Richard Green, committed suicide July 1, 1983. (Wikipedia)
Carlo Maquinto, an undefeated
flyweight, is in comatose fighting for his life after a fight in Baguio City
I was listening to the news when
I heard the sports caster stressed that what happened was an accident. I am not
a sports fanatic and I don’t know much about the technicalities of boxing, but
I sure do know what an accident is and what happened in the ring was not an
accident, it was manslaughter at the very least.
To call what happened an accident
is indefensible. Accidents happen because they
are unforeseen and unplanned event. It
implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented
had the circumstances leading to the accident been recognized, and acted upon,
prior to its occurrence.
From the legal definition: accident is used for events that occur
without the intervention of a human being. It is an event that no person caused
or could have prevented—an act of God.
First, boxing is a sport with one
goal: hurt the opponent till he/she loses the game. The ultimate goal is to knock the opponent
down on the mat. If KO is not achievable, hit the opponent in the face or on
the body until the opponent is weakened or hurt to the point that the other
player is rendered unfit to continue the fight resulting to a
technical knock out. If a TKO is not possible, out score the opponent by outpunching him/her thereby winning the bout.
The fighters study tactics and strategies
and they also knew enough physiology to understand the most vulnerable parts of
the body. They watch videos of great fights and learn the art of attack, defense and punching. Coaches are present to give tips on how to hurt the opponent better. There are doctors
and other medical people present because they know that fighters are going to be
hurt. The sporting event is a well planned and well organized gladiatorial event. Boxers being hurt in
the ring is the expected outcome and death is always a high probability.
To call what happened to Manquito an accident is really a wordplay used by commentators to defend this barbaric sport.
Of course, accidents happen in
soccer, basketball, chess etc., but these are true accidents because it is not the
intention of the players of these sports to punch or hurt fellow players.The thing here is that the
intention of the sport is what counts the most.
Below is a table of reported boxing fatalities in the US alone: (Journal of Combative Sports)
Year
|
1890s
|
1900s
|
1910s
|
1920s
|
1930s
|
1940s
|
1950s
|
1960s
|
1970s
|
1980s
|
1990s
|
2000s
|
0
|
5
|
16
|
30
|
8
|
30
|
6
|
16
|
13
|
7
|
7
|
12
|
10
|
1
|
10
|
10
|
11
|
18
|
15
|
8
|
16
|
12
|
14
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
2
|
11
|
9
|
12
|
23
|
31
|
9
|
19
|
15
|
12
|
8
|
7
|
10
|
3
|
10
|
10
|
18
|
21
|
19
|
6
|
24
|
14
|
4
|
9
|
5
|
10
|
4
|
12
|
4
|
8
|
22
|
13
|
8
|
8
|
15
|
9
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
5
|
3
|
9
|
11
|
15
|
11
|
10
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
8
|
14
|
7
|
6
|
8
|
16
|
7
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
15
|
13
|
8
|
3
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
19
|
3
|
11
|
21
|
5
|
12
|
14
|
6
|
8
|
6
|
8
|
3
|
8
|
10
|
8
|
8
|
21
|
10
|
18
|
10
|
7
|
11
|
7
|
2
| |
9
|
15
|
9
|
11
|
26
|
4
|
21
|
13
|
7
|
11
|
4
|
6
| |
Total
|
103
|
94
|
127
|
191
|
155
|
116
|
146
|
113
|
95
|
67
|
78
|
68
|
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