Japan Boxing Commission to hold emergency safety meeting after two fighters die following brain surgery
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Japan Boxing Commission to hold emergency safety meeting after two fighters die following brain surgery")
For representational purpose only Photograph: (Pexels)
The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), gym owners and other boxing authorities are under pressure to act on the matter and will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday (August 12)
Japanese boxing authorities will convene an emergency session on Tuesday (August 12) as the sport in the country comes under inspection after the deaths of two boxers in individual contests at the same tournament. Super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both aged 28, boxed at the same card in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall on August 2 and passed away days later after brain surgery.
The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), gym owners and other boxing authorities are under pressure to move and will convene an emergency meeting on Tuesday. They will also hold discussions regarding safety next month, according to local media. "We are acutely aware of our responsibility as the manager of the sport," Tsuyoshi Yasukochi, secretary-general of the JBC, was quoted saying to the reporters on Sunday (August 10). "We will take whatever measures we can."
Japanese media brought into focus the dangers of fighters dehydrating to lose significant amounts of weight quickly before weigh-ins. "Dehydration makes the brain more susceptible to bleeding," an article in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said. "Dehydration increases the risk of brain bleeding," the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
That is one of the topics the JBC intends to address with trainers. "They want to hear from gym officials who work closely with the athletes about such items as weight loss methods and pre-bout conditioning, which may be causally related (to fatalities)," the Nikkan Sports newspaper said.
In one of the immediate actions, the commission has voted to cut all Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation title fights from 12 rounds to 10. "The offensive power of Japanese boxing today is tremendous," Yasukochi was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun as telling reporters. “We have more and more boxers who are able to start exchanges of fierce blows from the first round. Maybe 12 rounds can be dangerous,” he added.
"He did his best to fight his way through the surgery and treatment he had been receiving at a Tokyo hospital due to acute subdural haematoma," the gym's post said on Sunday. Urakawa was stopped in the eighth and final round against Yoji Saito and "tragically succumbed to injuries sustained during his fight", the World Boxing Organization (WBO) said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
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