The Japan Boxing Commission will crack down on rapid dehydration to ‘make weight’, which experts say makes the brain susceptible to bleeding
Boxing authorities in Japan will introduce stricter safety measures after the sport was left in shock by the deaths this month of two boxers competing in the same event.
Officials from the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) told reporters this week the changes would include pre-bout urine tests, tougher rules on rapid weight loss and improvements in ringside medical services.
The governing body was forced to rethink its health and safety regime after Shigetoshi Kotari, a super featherweight, and Hiromasa Urakawa, a lightweight, died from brain injuries days after competing in separate bouts on the same card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on 2 August.
Kotari, 28, collapsed and later died after emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural haematoma – a condition in which blood collects between the skull and the brain – after going 12 rounds against Yamato Hata in an Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) title fight. Kotari was able to leave the ring unaided but was clearly in distress.
