Questionably McCloskey was not given the opportunity to see out the round and allow his corner to work on the cut, at the time of inspection the cut was not bleeding heavily and McCloskey whilst having lost every round still had opportunities in this world title fight and we must question the Doctors’ decision to call a halt to proceedings in such a high profile fight. Would this fight have been stopped if the roles were reversed and it was Khan was the victim of a cut? It seems doubtful.
Greater injuries have occurred in lesser fights and referees and ring physicians have allowed the battle to continue this is without mentioning the considerable heart and determination shown by the fighters themselves to power through the pain barrier. In recent memory the cut suffered by Tony Jefferies in his last contest was in a lesser fight, to a prospect and even to the untrained eye much more severe than the one deemed serious enough to stop a world title fight.
Cuts heal and McCloskey whilst having lost every round up until the stoppage was not being dominated or hurt by any of Khans work and with 6 rounds left in the fight who knows he could have landed the one punch that can be required to change a boxing match. I know that the involvement of the ring physician by the referee when an injury is sustained is for the benefit of the fighter but what must be realised is that fighting is often that mans livelihood and in a fight of the magnitude of a world title fight in both Britain and America it must be recognized what decisions such as this can cost a fighter. McCloskey may never get a chance such as this again and should have been given the eighteen remaining minutes to contest his dream.
Furthermore there were approximately 18’000 fans who has paid to watch the fight a large percentage of whom had travelled from Ireland to do so, being a boxing fan is not cheap and it is decisions such as this that do the sport no favours. Of course it is the doctor’s duty to ensure the safety of the fighter and numerous times this has been achieved and excelled at but it seems evident that little or no guidelines are given by the board of control to what constitutes an injury worthy of a stoppage and also to what extent a fighter should be allowed to continue to. Yes most doctors’ can make an educated decision on the injury and individual opinions will vary but it seems that in this case the doctor got it wrong, there are numerous factors requiring consideration; was the injury potentially career ending? Was it hindering the fighter at the time? And was the fighter in danger of getting hurt? The answer in my opinion to all is no.
With so much at stake why was so little thought excercised on numerous occasions at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to boxing injuries?
