Russian boxer Roman Simakov dies in hospital after collapsing in ring

Agree, 6th round was beating, but I don't blame ref for not stopping a fight at that moment. He was still moving and defending himself. I think his corner should have thrown a towel, because it was clear that opponent is just too strong. For me it also seems that maybe he has some injure from before... Really sad this has happened...

 

It's naught to do with hindsight.

This post was made during the live RBR thread:
http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?p=11457484#post11457484

I'd only started watching from the third round, and therefore wasn't paying strictest of attention to the action since there was no point trying to put a round-by-round scorecard together having missed the first two. Had I watched it from the beginning live, my thought process by the middle of the sixth (and that of any real boxing fan) would have made the very short leap from what it was, and was conveyed in the above post:

"****, Kovalev is about to spring the slight upset here. Either the corner or the ref is probably about to save Simakov any second now...if not by the end of this round then before the start of the 7th, or very early into it if this pattern continues..."

to:

"Oh, damn it, this has been a nasty beating and just swelled into something horrible. This HAS to be stopped...now..."

Maybe nobody was screaming at their computer screen, but any of us who watched it live certainly had a mixture of consternation and disbelief that the sixth was allowed to play out, with the consternation and disbelief turning to outright panic and dismay when the seventh was allowed to not only start but drag on for almost a whole minute.

You can say it's hindsight to blame the corner, perhaps (even though as Lampley pointed out they are supposed to be more invested in their man's welfare than the official despite him being the designated responsible party in the squared circle). Their vantage from ringside wasn't as close-up and unobstructed as Panin's. Maybe they had a little too much faith in their boy. Maybe as you say he gave them verbal miscues out of a warrior's stubbornness, not wanting to have it taken out of his hands. Fine,

How you can defend Panin, however, is utterly beyond my comprehension.

Watch the middle of round six. Right about the halfway point, I think maybe 1:25 left on the round clock. Watch him keep a close eye as Kovalev is ripping off shot after flush shot and start to lunge forward as though to (correctly) intervene. Nobody would have complained there, except maybe Roman in spite of himself. Then, inexplicably, Panin retracts the motion. He not only lets the remaining 80 seconds or so of the sixth proceed to get uglier and uglier, he lets Simakov come back out for the 7th and get whipped for most of another minute. He knew as early as halfway through the sixth that it was getting out of hand - yet he abandoned his instincts and refused to stop it for whatever reason, unknown to us. That isn't ignorance or incompetence. It's gross willful negligence.

He knew. Damn him, he knew how bad it was getting in there...yet he sat back and did nothing and let it worsen right under his nose. It wasn't just a failure; it was a disgrace of his position and he should never be employed in that capacity ever again.

 

Kovalev went to church to pray for Simakov while he was in a coma:

http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/09-12-2011/119906-russian_boxer-0/

 

That kind of guilt can really **** a guy's head up. :-( Look at Jesus Chavez, Nigel Benn, Nobuo Nashiro, Emile Griffith, Max Baer...all had profound and lasting psychological scarring.

Hopefully he gets proper counseling and his career isn't hurt by this to compound the tragedy.

 

The law-enforcement agencies of the Sverdlovsk region have launched investigation into the fact of the tragedy. Most likely, the man had received a lethal cranial injury and suffered a brain contusion during the fight. The cause of death will be finally determined after the forensic examination of the boxers' body.
"We are like one big family in boxing - we all know each other. I knew Roman. I knew him as a very strong and willful fighter. It's such a pity that it came out like that. By the seventh round, he had had two "standing" knockdowns, missed one shot and literally slipped down on the floor against the ropes. Simakov was a very strong fighter, he would never fall down for no reason. I realized that something serious happened," Alexander Kolesnikov, a promoter of the Federation of Professional Boxing, told Itar-Tass news agency.

The official added that the referees usually interrupt a fight if they believe that it may have a lamentable outcome.

"Roman could have not shown his bad condition, and the referees did not notice what was happening to him," Kolesnikov added.


Maybe there will be some justice served after all.


I don't know about criminal charges, but at the very least Panin should be banned from working in the sport.

 

Chris Eubank said he found it hard to go for it in a ring for a long time after the Watson fight.

This must be awful for Koralev. In the end this is just a profession to these guys, they dont think in terms of hurting the other opponent.

 

Sad news. It can be tricky sometimes there aren't many signs a fighters life is hanging on a thread especially when hes still punching back. I've also noticed like in some cases the affected fighter wasnt even kod it was a failure to come out for the next round and then the fighter gradually loses consciousness. Almost like a shutdown of the body. I still have the Tejanito Nazareth fight pretty fresh in my mind and I think the Johnson fight played out similarly. Rip Simakov.

 

****...

RIP

 

It's not just about the punishment. The guy did not throw a SINGLE punch for 2 1/2 minutes. Any good ref would have stopped it after that hard headshot just past the 2 minute mark.

-And his corner clearly didn't have their fighter's best interests in mind.

 

This is the second tragedy. How can this not mess with a fighter's head in future bouts?

- And Kovalev fought a brilliant fight. He looks like a serious contender to me, yet no one is talking about his incredible performance at all. (for obvious reasons.)

I hope he's able to move on.

 

Simakov was a good coming forward fighter

RIP Champ

 

Bro this thread is for giving your empathys for fallen fighter not being a jack ass. I feel sorry for you cold heart.:verysad

 

R.I.P.

Referees should be very responsible, but the guys in the corner, who knows the fighter inside out, has a bigger responsibility - they can see changes with the figther before others...

 

Rip

 

The horrible side to Boxing we all try to pretend is never there, and it never happens.

Gutted for all concerned. It's times like this that I do have to really question myself why I love this sport.

And my respect for Cotto grows for his attitude.

RIP.