The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has urged a complete ban on boxing after David Browne Jr, a local boxer, succumbed to his injuries four days after his super featherweight title bout in Sydney.
Browne Jr, during the 12-round bout at the Ingleburn RSL club on Friday, 11 September, was knocked out onto the canvas by Carlo Magali 30 seconds into the final round. Although the 28-year-old father of two regained conciousness initially, paramedics rushed him to Liverpool hospital in Australia following his collapse a second time.
On Tuesday, his family decided to turn off his life support, after the fighter failed to regain consciousness from an induced coma.
AMA vice-president Dr Stephen Parnis condemned the unfortunate incident and suggested it was completely "avoidable". And he also said that AMA has taken away its support for boxing.
"It's a terrible tragedy for a young man with a young family, but the fact that is was entirely avoidable just leaves a real sense of bitterness," Parnis told Australian broadcaster ABC.
"I know they don't intend for this to happen but ... the way that boxing is designed there will be these times inevitably where someone will get bleeding or irreversible damage to the brain and they will either lose their life or end up with brain damage.
"That is why the AMA thinks that we cannot continue with it [boxing]," he added.
It is a second incident in six months that has prompted medical authorities to call a ban on combat sports. It was only in March this year that the Australian medics body turned the heat on Boxing Queensland and other boxing federations in the country, after 23-year-old Braydon Smith collapsed in the dressing room following his fight, and went in to a state of coma later.
He was unable to regain consciousness and eventually succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, National Boxing Federation president John McDougall stated that Browne's death was the result of a "tragic accident in sport".
"In this case it's a tragic passing of a young family man," McDougall said. "I just couldn't say enough how much the industry feels for everyone connected, not leaving out his cornerman and trainer and the referee who I know how they'd be feeling at this stage. It's just a tragic accident in sport."
