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Boxer undergoes brain surgery
NEW YORK (AP) -- A boxer underwent three hours of brain surgery Wednesday after being punched into a coma just two rounds after ringside physicians nearly stopped his light-heavyweight fight. Beethavean Scottland, 26, was in extremely critical condition at Bellevue Hospital, where his family was keeping vigil. Scottland was knocked out Tuesday night in the 10th round of his fight with undefeated George Khalid Jones. Scottland, of North Brentwood, Md., was a late replacement when the scheduled fighter pulled out last Friday after suffering a broken nose during training. After he was staggered in the seventh round, Scottland appeared shaken as he returned to his corner. "At the end of the seventh round, I spoke to the referee and said, 'I don't think he should take any more shots,' " said Dr. Barry Jordan, chief medical officer with the New York State Boxing Commission. "But what happened is that the eighth and the ninth rounds were his best rounds. And in the 10th round, he got caught," Jordan said. In the last round of the nationally televised fight, Scottland hit the canvas after a left-right combination from Jones. Jordan said the fighter was initially somewhat coherent after the knockout. Scottland was able to answer questions and follow simple directions, but his condition quickly deteriorated. "We knew it was something serious," Jordan said. After spending five minutes in the ring, Scottland was rushed to Bellevue Hospital. Although Scottland was a late substitution on the card, he passed a series of physical and neurological exams before getting the OK to fight, Jordan said. After undergoing one procedure overnight at Bellevue, Scottland endured three hours of neurosurgery Wednesday. Doctors would not provide any prognosis. The nationally televised fight was the first for Scottland since last August. He entered the ring with a 20-6-2 record, including nine knockouts. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. agreed with Jordan's assessment of Scottland's performance. "You're darned if you do and darned if you don't," Mercante said about stopping the fight. "He was taking shots, but then he'd come back with a barrage of his own. Some of the judges had him winning the eighth and ninth round." Jones, of Paterson, N.J., said after the fight that his prayers were with Scottland. "I feel bad for him, but you know in this game you're taking a chance whenever you get in the ring," said Jones, now 16-0 with 12 KOs. "I hope he's all right." The fight, televised on ESPN2, was the first professional boxing match held on the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, a retired aircraft carrier. More than 2,000 people watched the fight on the ship's flight deck.
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