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sixate · 08-12-2003, 05:31 PM

Hopefully, tougher than this dumbass!

Better yet, just be a little smarter than this moron.

LINKY

Quote:

Sarasota police probe Toughman contest that killed woman

06/18/2003

By VICKIE CHACHERE, Associated Press

TAMPA — The death of a 30-year-old woman injured in a Toughman boxing competition she'd entered on an impulse sparked a police investigation Tuesday and renewed calls among boxing experts for a ban on such events,

Stacy Young was disconnected from life support Tuesday afternoon after being declared brain dead Monday night at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Bayfront spokesman Bill Hervey said. Hospital represenatives at one point Tuesday prematurely reported her death when she was still on life support.

Young, the mother of two girls, suffered swelling and hemorrhaging in the brain during a three-round Toughman boxing competition in Sarasota on Saturday. She'd entered the contest against another woman on an impulse and for "fun," her husband said.

"They tell us nobody's going to get hurt," Chuck Young told the Sarasota Herald Tribune. "The worst that could happen was to get a broken nose."

Stacy Young was knocked to the ground several times by her smaller opponent during the three-round fight.

She was one of three people injured during the competition put on by Michigan promoter Art Dore. Dore's amateur boxing matches have been banned in five states and are widely criticized by boxing experts for their lack of adequate supervision by both referees and fight doctors.

Florida officials have attempted to ban the matches, but a loophole in the state law has allowed Dore to continue staging the events, including Saturday's at publically-owned Robarts Arena at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds.

"Is unacceptable for this type of tragedy to occur," said Florida Boxing Commission Chairman Alvin Entin. "It's not harmless fun and, candidly, it's pretty stupid. It's quasi-barbaric."

In a statement released Tuesday from Dore's Bay City, Mich., office, Dore said he was saddened by Stacy Young's death, but said all safety precautions were taken prior to the event.

"When a contestant dies in the sport of their choice, it's a tragedy," Dore said in the statement. "But when it happens in a Toughman event, I am devastated. I know that all sports carry an inherent danger, but when I see it happen to a Toughman competitor, we all feel the loss deeply."

Dore said he intends to investigate the death. He defended his bouts, saying with 5,000 contestants in 24 years, his organization has "the best safety record among all forms of boxing."

Toughman fighters wear head gear, kidney protectors and 16-ounce gloves, but still three competitors have died in the last nine months and some say the total number of deaths in the circuit's 24-year history is as high as nine.

Sarasota Police spokesman Jay Frank said an inquiry was opened Tuesday morning into the incident and said Young's death is being investigated as a "suspicious" death.

Sarasota hosts the Toughman competition about once a year, but Frank said while there have been several injuries, Young's is the first death associated with the Sarasota bouts.

"We usually have more problems with people in the stands fighting each other," he said.

Florida lawmakers attempted to ban such fights in the 1990s, but Dore has managed to slip through loopholes and the technical definition of the law, said Chris Meffert, executive director of the Florida Boxing Commission.

Because Dore does not offer more than $50 in prize money in Florida, the Toughman bouts aren't considered professional boxing and aren't regulated by the state. Boxers in professional fights are required to undergo strict medical evaluations and referees undergo rigorous training before they can judge a fight.

Even if that law governing professional fights applied to Dore, it would only be a misdemeanor violation.

Amateur boxing in Florida is regulated by independent organizations which sponsor the events, such as the Police Athletic League or Golden Gloves. Dore's bouts are sanctioned by the American Boxing and Athletic Association — a nonprofit company he created and controls.

"He stays just within the law," Meffert said. "If I had my druthers, those types of events are unsafe and wouldn't be allowed in Florida."

Toughman was started by Dore in Michigan in 1979.

Participants must be at least 18-years-old and pay a $50 entry fee, sign a waiver releasing promoters from liability and have their heart rate and blood pressure checked by a doctor, said Joelle English, head of public relations for AdoreAble Promotions, the event's parent company. Boxers are ineligible if they have won five amateur bouts in the past five years.

Although Toughman fighters wear head gear, kidney protectors and 16-ounce gloves, there is still some danger.

Chuck and Stacy Young of Bradenton attended the Toughman contest Friday and decided to return Saturday after it was announced that the event needed additional boxers, Chuck Young said.

At 240 pounds, Stacy Young outweighed her opponent by about 60 pounds. But in the first 30 seconds of the bout, family members knew it was an uneven match, Jodie Meyers, Stacy Young's sister, told the Herald Tribune.

The other woman, who has not been publicly identified, was landing punches and knocking Stacy Young to the mat. Meanwhile, Stacy Young landed few punches during the three-round bout.

Stanley Simpson, a fight doctor and associate professor at Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine, said doctors in Florida have been discussing how to stop the Toughman competition and similarly staged "barroom brawls" which have also caused deaths.

Simpson said people who participate in the fights have no idea how dangerous they are, and in many cases their judgment is clouded by alcohol sold at the events.

"They have lost their fear," he said. "They have no clue what could happen to them."

Simpson said any blow to the head will cause the brain to move within the skull and that will cause damage. Some of it will be superficial damage with no apparent effects, but the damage can also be permanent, he warned.

David Mills, a Sarasota County commissioner and member of the board which oversees the county fairgrounds, said he will ask that no more Toughman competitions be allowed at the Robarts arena and would support a countywide ban on such events.

"I would hope that's the last one we have in Sarasota County," he said. "It's terrible. It's a tragedy."

Obviously, I don't blame the guy that's in charge of these events. I heard this story on the Stern show today and what they said was there were only two women who entered the event and one woman didn't show up. So they asked someone in the crowd if they wanted to fight the woman that did showed up. No doubt the lady who stepped forward was a complete lardass and thought she could kick the shit out of the smaller woman in the ring. She got exactly what she deserved. It's too damn bad that this didn't happen before she decided to breed and raise a completely fucked up family. She was retarded for even doing something like this because she was a mother, and obviously a horrible one, that never had a rational thought fill her empty head. Now I'm sure the husband is gonna try to sue even though I'm sure he'll lose. It was her fault and he should blame himself for not having enough sense to tell his wife not to do something that dumb.