Boxer dies of head injury in ‘professional’ fight

KARACHI: In a sad incident, Mohammad Aslam, a boxer from Pishin, died after being hit in the face during a professional boxing event here on Saturday.

Aslam fell unconscious after being hit by his rival fighter Mohammad Wali on his chin. He was shifted to a nearby hospital where he breathed his last on Sunday. He was laid to rest in Pishin, Balochistan, on Monday.

It was learnt that the event, whose official name was “Fight Night Series”, was held under the auspices of Pakistan Boxing Council at the Pavilion End Club here.

Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has demanded that the government take stern action against the organisers. “We demand that the government and law-enforcement agencies take stern action against the organisers in order to avert such incidents in future,” PBF secretary Col Nasir Tung said in a video message.

“Neither the PBF nor our relevant boxing association has any link with such events which are held in the name of professional boxing. No body sought our permission to hold such an event,” the official said.

He added that security and safety of boxers was the top priority of the PBF and it would not allow such events to continue. The PBF has constituted a two-member committee comprising Younis Pathan and Asghar Baloch to probe the incident and submit a report to the PBF.

Meanwhile, a seasoned boxer, requesting anonymity, told ‘The News’ that medical clearance is very important for a boxer to go for such fights. “Personally I believe that such events should not be held in Pakistan where rules and regulations are not strictly followed,” the boxer said. “And secondly the issue is that when a fighter goes for a professional fight, around ten to 12 days before the fight his CT scan and MRI are conducted. The boxer remains in the MRI machine for around two hours in order to examine whether he has any head injury or not. If a boxer has any such issues his promotors are informed by the medical panel that the fighter is not fit to fight,” the boxer said.

“These days fights are being organised in Pakistan at various places in the name of professional fights but I don’t think any of the boxers go through MRI before the fight. It’s totally illegal and should be stopped. It is like playing with the lives of the boxers,” the boxer said.

Another senior boxer told this correspondent that in Hyderabad, too, a boxer had died with such a punch. “Yes, a boxer can die with such a punch. He fell so quickly as the video shows and might have received a deep head injury. Boxers should not go for any fight without MRI,” the boxer said.

This correspondent tried to contact the senior officials of Pakistan Boxing Council but they did not receive calls. Balochistan Boxing Association (BBA) secretary Hafiz Agha demanded that Sindh and Balochistan governments constitute a joint investigation team to probe the incident.

“It’s a huge loss. I request both the Sindh and Balochistan governments to form a joint investigation team to probe the causes behind the death of the boxer,” Agha told ‘The News’. “There could be several reasons behind the death,” Agha said. “Aslam was a nice boy. He won gold for Balochistan and was a bronze medallist at the national level. In the Karachi fight he featured in the light heavyweight category,” he said.