A brutal fight which has led to blackwell being put into a coma. Thankfully his mashed up eye probably saved him some serious damage. Much respect to eubank snr for his little chat to jnr as well.

I am not sure about this. The way I see it is that Snr realised that shots to the head were not stopping the guy, and he was telling Jnr to focus on the body to see if that would put him down quicker.

Guess we’ll never know, but I am probably being cynical, and given events from Snr’s past he was being considerate to the possibility of brain injury.

Link for those who didn’t see it: https://amp.twimg.com/v/d47d9bab-5eb9-4ef5-a8d0-5c168d037066

aye, caught it last night on +24. hell of a fight. was rooting for blackwell, got a big heart ill give him that.

Much has been made about Eubank Snr telling his boy to go to the body and not head … lots attributing this to Snr looking out for the well being of the other boxer.

Whilst most who know anything about boxing, will know he was merely suggesting going to the body because the teak tough Blackwell was absorbing Eubanks best shots to the head – whilst looking increasingly tired; so the body shots were more likely to get the stoppage he wanted.

I got the impression Snr was concerned the verdict may go against his son, hence why the ref was in no hurry to stop the fight.

Fingers crossed Blackwell makes a full recovery.

Agree, Snr’s comments were purely pragmatic. Blackwell was nails !! Never stopped fighting or defending himself. Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery.

Am torn. I appreciate the craft of this sport, but I’m beginning to struggle to understand how we can defend a sport which is largely decided by hard blows to each other’s heads.

Not looking to incite the inevitable flaming here, it just seems quite an odd thing to accept in this day and age.

I remember watching the Eubank/Watson fight in 91, was a glory period for boxing and British boxers. I liked Eubanks bravado back then too.

I’d like to think Eubank snr was looking at the situation based on his previous experience with Watson. I’ve no doubt he wanted to finish the fight early as it was pretty much one way traffic.

I find it quite scary that the media choose to focus on the referee as the scapegoat but in reality I think the corner has a responsibility to the fighter in these situations too. Knowing the game plan and the way the fight was going they have to step in to save the fighter from himself. Especially one that isnt going to be stopped and looked like one to prove a point of toughness.

Its not only the referee but also the corner to chuck in the towel to allow the fighter to fight another day. There is no point taking a beating which puts both careers of the boxers at risk.

^^ this.

Had the same conversation with Mrs Fettlin as she was telling me about the fight. Ultimately the safety and wellbeing of the individual fighter should fall back to his/her corner. They could see how it was going, should have done the right thing and chucked in the towel.

Hope he makes a full recovery, as has been said his eye injury saved him from himself.

Blackwell’s corner knew he was taking too many shots, his trainer actually asked him if he liked taking all those uppercuts! Eubank Snr was banging on the canvas at the ref to have the fight stopped as well as commenting to Jnr that he couldn’t believe it hadn’t been stopped.
Blackwell was tough though, probably too game in the end. Hope he recovers back to full fitness then has a long hard think about his future boxing career, I for one can’t see much of a way back for him after that.

Just watched it, without knowing what this thread contained…
Trouble for the ref was, that Blackwell always looked like he was defending himself even in those rounds where Eubank launched the massive assaults. Then, as is Eubank’s style he’d move away and Blackwell would start throwing. As the rounds went on he was landing absolutely nothing of note, so the eye injury was a good point to stop it. I actually shouted at the telly “He’s not gonna win!” when it looked like the doc was having trouble deciding (I had Eubank winning every round (totally impartial)).
Eubank snr was trying to tell him how to finish the fight, not how to protect the other boxer, IMO.
Hope Blackwell recovers ok. Showed unbelievable heart.

cheekymonkey888 – Member

I find it quite scary that the media choose to focus on the referee as the scapegoat but in reality I think the corner has a responsibility to the fighter in these situations too. Knowing the game plan and the way the fight was going they have to step in to save the fighter from himself. Especially one that isnt going to be stopped and looked like one to prove a point of toughness.

Its not only the referee but also the corner to chuck in the towel to allow the fighter to fight another day. There is no point taking a beating which puts both careers of the boxers at risk.

But some of the most memorable wins have been a result of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.
Carl Froch vs Jermaine Taylor, Julian Jackson vs Herol Graham come to mind.

Its a fluke accident. Similar to the tragedy of Antoine Demoitie.

I feel his corner let him down. It was alot of one way traffic all head shots the amount of upper cuts getting through was shocking. His corner was even caught on mic stating “you like taking all these upper cuts?” He, Blackwell, is a front foot fighter and he would never stop coming forward and his corner fully knows his style and mental attitude as a fighter (never defeated never go backwards). His face / nose alone was enough to stop the fight 3 maybe 4 rounds earlier. Easy to state now as hindsight is an exact science. The amount of hits he took to the head meant is was not a fluke accident. No one can sustain that amount of powerful contact energy on the brain without issue.

Its a fluke accident

It’s not really, though, is it? It’s fairly predictable that if you have x number of boxing matches in a year and y number of punches in the head, then sooner or later someone’s going to get seriously hurt. Same as if you have x thousand mountain bikers riding a trail in a year etc etc.

I too am undecided. I’ve only very recently moved on from the opinion that it is a thugs game and have been enjoying watching the Channel 5 matches objectively, as I would snooker or darts.

Watching Eubank Jr pushing Blackwell’s high block aside to attack with the right was excellent, however would I have been so supportive had I known Blackwell’s true condition?

I’m unsure, but I don’t think I’ll give up watching just yet.

After Nigel Benn had almost killed Gerald McClellen, he said to the audience, at the end of the day, you got what you wanted.
Boxers know the risks. You are fighting to knock the other person unconscious, why is it a surprise that occasionally fighters get serious brain damage or killed?

I think as a sport the safety of boxers has moved on and safeguards have been put in place to reduce the risk of serious injury/ dying in the ring. I personally dont watch boxing for someone to be badly injured or killed. I watch it for the excitement that at any moment during the fight either boxer has a punchers chance of winning. One sided contests that inflict damage isn’t really a sporting spectacle as the loser has already lost and the outcome inevitable whether it be the the next round or the last.

I watched the fight and from what I saw I don’t think senior was thinking of Blackwell’s health at all, he was surprised he was still standing…!
I struggle with strategies where one boxer is relaying on the other one tiring by continually hitting them – this has obvious drawbacks as was clearly demonstrated, he didn’t seem to have any defence to the onslaught of uppercuts which have got to hurt.
Really his corner should have seen that it was a lost cause and pulled him out, having said that hindsight is a great thing, the level of training and dedication is extraordinary and along with other dangerous sports the competitors are all to aware of the risks.

I watched the fight and from what I saw I don’t think senior was thinking of Blackwell’s health at all

Agreed

Even late on the Blackwell corner were talking about game plans, tiring Eubanks, drawing his sting and then going for the win. It was becoming unlikely that he’d be able to do that but I don’t think it was inevitable, he always had a puncher’s chance and after every round he was lucid and coherent.

The concern is that damage done initially isn’t always apparent and without a portable MRI scanner the ref and corner can only go on what they see in front of them. I don’t attach any blame to the decisions they made at the time, I just hope that with the improved monitoring that when his condition deteriorated after the fight it was picked up fast enough that he makes a recovery.

konabunny – Member
Its a fluke accident

It’s not really, though, is it? It’s fairly predictable that if you have x number of boxing matches in a year and y number of punches in the head, then sooner or later someone’s going to get seriously hurt. Same as if you have x thousand mountain bikers riding a trail in a year etc etc.

And in the same vein – if enough people all walk to their local shop. Then sooner or later one of them will trip over the kerb and seriously hurt themselves.

Accidents happen unfortunately.

After Nigel Benn had almost killed Gerald McClellen, he said to the audience, at the end of the day, you got what you wanted

I don’t remember that particular quote, but yes we did – not an injured boxer, but an amazing fight.

Mooman – Accidents do happen…there is more probability of an “accident” when punching someone repeated in the head than someone walking up a kerb repeated

I don’t remember that particular quote, but yes we did – not an injured boxer, but an amazing fight.

He said it in a press conference after the fight. Actually he may have been referring to the press rather than the public, but at the end of the day, it is the primal thirst for blood that attracts us to boxing and increasingly cagefighting.

After Nigel Benn had almost killed Gerald McClellen, he said to the audience, at the end of the day, you got what you wanted

The crowd did get what they wanted in terms of a brutal fight that Benn eventually won . The boxing powers that be didn’t get what they wanted or expected and that was for McClellen to end Nigel Benns career , although when he knocked him clean out of the ring in round 1 the writing appeared to be on the wall . McClellen was clearly injured well before the end of that fight as he kept on blinking every few seconds and when that started he should have been stopped . I don’t know if that would have made a difference to his outcome or not but things certainly seem to have improved since then .
It still feels like a throwback to gladiatorial times when huge numbers of people get enjoyment out of another person effectively having his life ended .

I think people watch it for all different reasons. Don’t like cagefighting/UFC at all myself.

people get enjoyment out of another person effectively having his life ended .

Yeah, nice sensationalism. I suspect its an extremely small percentage who get enjoyment out of that.

DezB

I think people watch it for all different reasons. Don’t like cagefighting/UFC at all myself.

Which is a sport where there are a number of ways to win which don’t involve head trauma. Most “casual” fans of boxing and mma mistakenly believe that mma is more savage than boxing, but the reality is smaller gloves make it harder on the hands and less damaging on the brain.
They do however cause more cuts and damage to the face which looks worse.

I enjoyed Eubank v Blackwell and didn’t think the ref was at fault. Plenty of Captain Hindsight’s creeping out of the woodwork now. I’d venture that the swelling on his eye is due to a broken orbital and not indictive of internal injury which was probably caused by those uppercuts.

Personally I think Eubank Snr did have Blackwell’s safety (or his son’s career) in mind when he told him to go to the body. He wasn’t the same fighter after the Watson fight. Lost his killer instinct. I very much doubt he would want his son to kill or cripple someone in the ring.

Yeah, nice sensationalism. I suspect its an extremely small percentage who get enjoyment out of that.

Yeah , it wasn’t meant to come across like that . I feel kind of guilty having watched and really enjoyed Benn vs McClelland , Eubank vs Watson , Eubank Jr vs Blackwell , and one or two others that ended in tragedy that I can’t remember .
I just wish there was a way you could keep the intensity and bravery without the risk of physical harm but I guess there’s not . I hope and expect that Blackwell makes a full recovery unlike others mentioned .

It’s better than seeing Spanish/South American bull fighting where the bull stands no chance of surviving.

You lot think too much coz they know what they are in for.

Nahhh … no one should be blamed.

The higher the risk the better the pay. Simple!

🙄

edit: Now I want to watch it …

genesiscore502011 – Member
Mooman – Accidents do happen…there is more probability of an “accident” when punching someone repeated in the head than someone walking up a kerb repeated

There are hundreds of kids every week taking punches to the head either sparring or fighting in local gyms. These unfortunate incidents when a boxer gets injured are very rare.

There are many sports with higher rates of injury and death than boxing; rugby for example.

But back to your example: most of us have tripped over a kerb at some time – very very few boxers will sustain a brain injury.

mooman

But back to your example: most of us have tripped over a kerb at some time – very very few boxers will sustain a brain injury.

Every boxer will sustain a brain injury. That’s not even up for debate. The issue is the severity.

From the guardian:

Before the fight was stopped, Eubank Sr urged his son to avoid more blows to Blackwell’s head, and to focus instead on his torso.

“If the referee doesn’t stop it, then I don’t know what to tell you, but I will tell you this: one, if he doesn’t stop it and we keep on beating him like this, he is getting hurt; two, if it goes to a decision, why didn’t the referee stop the fight? I don’t get why,” he said. “So maybe you shouldn’t leave it to the referee. So you’re not going to take him out to the face – you’re going to take him out to the body.”

Fwiw. Had it been my son I’d have wanted him to finish it quickly by whatever means. But then I’ve not disabled folk by hitting them I guess,(or killed anyone on the road either, tho that’s another story.) Anyway, I like watching boxing, and would be lying if I said that brutal fights where heart (and mind blowing fitness and strength) plays as bigger part as skill, aren’t good to watch…

It’s not good though is it?

I think Eubank Snr was worried about Blackwell. Why would he tell him to stop punching him in the face? He could have just said concentrate on the body.

Edit: quote above is pretty conclusive IMO.

jimjam – Member

Personally I think Eubank Snr did have Blackwell’s safety (or his son’s career) in mind when he told him to go to the body. He wasn’t the same fighter after the Watson fight. Lost his killer instinct.

Try telling that to John Jarvis a couple fights later …

jimjam – Member

Every boxer will sustain a brain injury. That’s not even up for debate. The issue is the severity.

Utter nonsense. 😀

Er it was not my example it was yours!?!

mooman

jimjam

Every boxer will sustain a brain injury. That’s not even up for debate. The issue is the severity.

Utter nonsense. [/quote]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-heading-a-soccer-ball-cause-brain-damage/

http://www.neurology.org/content/51/3/791

Pretty common in fights where someone clearly isn’t going to go out from head shots for the corner to suggest concentrating on the body.
Eubank Sr shouldn’t be talking in the corner anyway.

Didn’t he say something like the way to chop a tree down was to go for the trunk?

Activities known to have a higher-than-average risk of concussion include:
rugby
football
cycling
boxing
martial arts, such as karate or judo
Most doctors would argue that the physical benefits of regularly taking part in these sports outweigh any potential risks associated with concussion.
But this is only if you (or your child) wear appropriate equipment, such as a helmet, and are supervised by a suitably trained referee, umpire or trainer with experience of diagnosing and treating concussion.
The exception to this is boxing, as most doctors – especially those who treat head injuries – have stated that the risks of serious brain injury associated with boxing are unacceptably high and the sport should be made illegal.

Above is from NHS website. I am a boxing fan. My brother was an ex-pro . I agree the medical controls are better. BUT more still needs to be done.

edit: Now I want to watch it …

Nothing wrong with that – it was a good fight. Although, find any of the Gatti-Ward fights for properly fantastic, closely matched fights.