BOXING; No Progress For Boxer
Published: June 30, 2001
A boxer who sustained a severe head injury in a televised fight Tuesday remained comatose and in very critical condition yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The boxer, Beethavean Scottland, 26, of Hyattsville, Md., ''remains unchanged from yesterday,'' said Lorinda Klein, a spokeswoman for Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan.
Scottland was knocked down by George Jones in the 10th and final round of a light-heavyweight bout on the rear deck of the U.S.S. Intrepid in the Hudson River.
Scottland (20-7-2, 9 knockouts), who usually fights as a supermiddleweight in the 168-pound division, was a last-minute replacement to fight Jones (16-0, 12 knockouts), a light heavyweight who fights in the 175-pound division.
After the knockout, Scottland was breathing but unresponsive. He was rushed to Bellevue, where doctors diagnosed a subdural hematoma, a rupture of the veins between the brain and the skull. Scottland had brain surgery Wednesday morning.
Scottland is the fourth boxer in two decades to sustain a catastrophic injury in a fight in New York State. The New York State Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing, is reviewing the fight to see if it should have been stopped before the 10th round.