Toughman Contest: Is it time to shut it down?

[Guest Downhome]

A 30-year old woman, wife/mother of two, passed away after a beating she took in the ring recently. The woman had no experiance at all, and was put into the bout with someone who actually knew what they were doing, after the original opponent was not able to fight for some reason. Here is an article about it...

 

SARASOTA -- The 30-year- old Bradenton woman who tried her luck in an amateur boxing competition died Tuesday when doctors disconnected the life support system that had kept her alive since Saturday, hospital officials said.

 

The Sarasota police have opened an investigation into Stacy Young's death, and one county commissioner said he favored ending the 18-year run of the Michigan-based Toughman competition at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds.

 

Young was rushed to St. Petersburg's Bayfront Medical Center after being knocked down by her opponent during a match she entered on the spur of the moment at Robarts Arena.

 

 

 

These contests, described by some critics as organized brawls by contestants who may not be in fighting shape, are held throughout the country. Contestants fight to prove they are the baddest.

 

Young is the ninth person -- and the first woman -- believed to have died nationwide from injuries sustained in Toughman competition since the contests began 24 years ago.

 

Another four people have died after similar amateur fighting bouts, and five others have suffered permanent brain injuries from unregulated fights, according to a tabulation by the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this year.

 

 

 

State lawmakers twice have tried unsuccessfully to ban Toughman-type competitions in Florida, said Chris Meffert, the Florida State Boxing Commission executive director.

 

"We are opposed to it," Meffert said, because contestants risk their lives and health.

 

As long as promoters award cash prizes of $50 or less, the competitions aren't sanctioned by the state, and are unregulated. More valuable purses would put the fights under the regulation of the boxing commission, which requires permits for matches.

 

 

 

Young's death has brought renewed calls to try to rein in the Toughman Contests, which are allowed in 44 states and abroad. At least four states ban such fights, according to published reports.

 

Sarasota County Commissioner David Mills said he favors action to prohibit the Toughman Contest from returning to Sarasota.

 

"As a (fair) board member, I would say that we don't sanction and don't rent space to them in the future," said Mills, the commission's member on the Sarasota County Fair Association board.

 

 

 

He said he would also support a county resolution preventing Toughman Contests in the future.

 

State Rep. Bob Henriquez, D-Tampa, also called for action.

 

"This is something that needs to be looked into. You have to regulate any type of competition that has physical contact," said Henriquez, who is also a boxing fan.

 

"There should be some sort of standard if there is going to be conflict between humans, because if not, we're just stepping back into the gladiator age."

 

 

 

Young was one of three people injured during the bouts Saturday night. One person was treated and released and the other is being treated for head injuries in the intensive care unit at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, according to Paul Dezzi, assistant chief of the county's Emergency Medical Services.

 

The Toughman Contests were founded by businessman and boxing promoter Art Dore, to provide an opportunity for ordinary men and women to test themselves in the ring. Dore, who did not return a reporter's phone calls, issued a statement Tuesday.

 

 

 

"When any contestant dies in the sport of their choice, it's a tragedy," Dore said in the statement. "But when it happens in a Toughman event, I am devastated. I know that all sports carry an inherent danger, but when I see it happen to a Toughman competitor, we all feel the loss deeply."

 

Detectives with the Sarasota Police Department announced Tuesday that they are launching a criminal investigation into Young's death.

 

Detectives will determine whether criminal charges should be filed, and whether the case should be forwarded to the state attorney's office, said spokesman Jay Frank.

 

 

 

Meffert with the state boxing commission said his agency has no authority to conduct investigations, but can try to support the local agency.

 

His small staff has enough on their hands checking up on the referees and ringside doctors and making sure health and safety rules are followed for the 53 martial arts and professional boxing matches held in the state in the last few years.

 

Young never recovered from the serious brain damage caused by being hit numerous times, said Jodie Meyers of Lakewood Ranch, her older sister.

 

 

 

The family didn't realize how badly Young was hurt until they got to the hospital, Meyers said. "We had no idea while we were at the event."

 

The Herald-Tribune was not able to confirm the name of Young's opponent.

 

Young's family donated her organs, which will be sent to critically ill people on transplant lists.

 

Family members said that Young's body will be flown back to her home in Tucson, Ariz., for services and burial.

 

"She was a wonderful person," Meyers said. "She was a person who made great strides from where she was. She had her first child at age 17. There were hardships, but she struggled to pull herself back up."

 

 

 

This report contains material from The Tampa Tribune and The Associated Press.

 

...I had no idea so many were being killed from this. This woman is, I believe, the forth person to be killed because of the fights, in the past ten months. Something has to give, and it has to happen soon.

 

It's already banned in many states, but we need something more to happen. Either shut this bullshit down, or at least pair the people up together, who are at the same skill level, or juts something. Here is a great article about all of this also, by Doug Fernandes...

 

In the wake of Tuesday's tragic death of Stacy Young, fatally injured during Saturday's Original Toughman Contest at Robarts Arena, a distinction must be made.

 

 

 

It wasn't boxing.

 

 

The fighters wore gloves, yes, and with those gloves attempted to strike their opponent, but these two factors alone do not constitute a boxing match.

 

That happens only when two evenly-matched fighters, in peak physical condition, familiar with the sport's tactics of offense and defense, cross skills.

 

They are overseen by a state regulatory agency. They undergo complete pre-fight physicals. In the ring they are monitored by a licensed, competent referee. Outside the ring sits an experienced, competent doctor.

 

 

 

That's boxing. But the freak show perpetrated by Toughman promoter Art Dore, complete with a beery out-for-blood crowd, was to boxing what the WWE is to Olympic wrestling.

 

"Toughman is nothing but a bad burlesque of boxing,'' said Harold Wilen, director of the Sarasota Boxing Club. "To me there's no correlation. This is not boxing.''

 

Wilen has spent the better part of his adult life training men and women in "the sweet science" -- the art of hitting without getting hit. He's taught them how to stick and move, slip and block punches, cut off the ring -- skills rarely seen at any Toughman contest.

 

 

 

Frankly, there are no skills. Boxers rush in, throwing punches from awkward angles, leaving themselves vulnerable to a lucky punch. Lucky, yet potentially deadly.

 

And that's the real danger of Toughman contests. Combatants can't defend themselves. A blow an experienced fighter parries easily finds the temple of a Toughman competitor.

 

There are numbers Dore doesn't want you to know. Ten, the number of states that have banned Toughman contests. Twelve, the number of fighters to die since Toughman began in 1979. And four, counting Young, the number to die in the last nine months.

 

 

 

"It's amazing to me that more people have not been killed or injured,'' said Wilen.

 

Tom Turnbaugh of Millsboro, Del., was lucky. In March, after a Toughman bout, his kidneys failed. Muscle tissue breakdown caused toxins to be released throughout his body.

 

"They said they would provide me with medical attention,'' Turnbaugh told the Dover Post. "But they didn't. I laid in the back room vomiting for about an hour. No one even once looked at me.''

 

 

 

According to The Detroit News, at two of the fatal bouts, in Meridian, Idaho, and Kansas City, Kan., the ringside doctors were chiropractors. Fighters usually wear one-size-fits-all protective gear.

 

The headgear used is insufficient, and the pre-bout exam consists of checks of blood pressure and alcohol levels only. The fighter himself provides other medical history and ring experience.

 

Reasons enough for Sarasota to say "See ya'' to Dore and his traveling Toughman circus. Particularly after Saturday night's tragedy.

 

 

 

Just don't call it boxing.

 

...I've watched it before, I know people who have actually participated, but something needs to be done, and soon.

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

[Guest Youth N Asia]

These things are just bad ideas to begin with.

 

You hear more about people trying to shut down UFC shows then stuff like this. No one's died in a MMA event, but quite a few have in boxing rings.

[Guest DawnBTVS]

Saw a special on Toughman Competitions on the HBO Sports Show hosted by Bryant Gumble and damn, this is just sad, stupid and crazy. Why ANYBODY would want to do this for $50? Christ, you can mow lawns and shit for that much with less risk of killing yourself.

[Guest Downhome]

These things are just bad ideas to begin with.

 

You hear more about people trying to shut down UFC shows then stuff like this. No one's died in a MMA event, but quite a few have in boxing rings.

What I don't get, is that professionals get killed in a boxing match, people who have been doing it a good part of their life.

 

By just throwing in common everyday people in the same enviroment, isn't that just asking for tragedy?

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

I'm all about Darwin doing his thing. This just speeds up the process...

[Guest starvenger]

These things are just bad ideas to begin with.

 

You hear more about people trying to shut down UFC shows then stuff like this. No one's died in a MMA event, but quite a few have in boxing rings.

Well the thing about the Toughman is that it's technically an amateur competition, so it isn't subject to the regulations that MMA events are. And since it's an "amateur" competition, all the profits go to a "charitable foundation", which is run by Toughman owner Art Dore, and has Toughman owner Art Dore as the sole employee. A bit dodgy, no?

 

Anyways, I think the Detroit News had a great article on Toughman about a month back. I'll see if I can find it...

[Guest starvenger]

OK, here's the link. Decent amount of articles...

[Agent_Bond34 0]

You hear more about people trying to shut down UFC shows then stuff like this.

I haven't heard anyone talk about that.

 

Where has this kind of talk, sprung up?

[Guest razazteca]

The Pardon The Interruption guys hate UFC. And almost everybody from ESPN is anti UFC.

[Guest Dangerous A]

The Pardon The Interruption guys hate UFC. And almost everybody from ESPN is anti UFC.

And they will continue to be anti-UFC as long as

 

 

A) they continue getting money from Boxing enthusiasts who are scared it may rival them. Boxing enthusiasts with power such as Senator John McCain have pushed for the banning of MMA in the US, calling it a "human cock fight". However, McCain is a staunch supporter of boxing, which has shown to be more damaging to fighters than MMA.

 

 

and

 

 

B) they refuse to educate themselves to the fact that MMA is way safer than Boxing in regards to death in the ring and head trauma injuries that take their toll years after the fights.

 

 

Toughman should have some stricter regulations though. At least tighter screening of the fighters. That woman had no business in that ring.

[Guest Dangerous A]

To add to my above post, UFC also helped dig it's own grave with the perception of MMA.

 

When UFC first hit the scene, it was pushed as being a more real, violent, and bloodier version of wrestling. That opened up the floodgates for anti violence movements across the nations, in particular, people in politics. If UFC would've not pushed the blood and violence part so much and relied on the techniques and fighting skills, maybe MMA wouldn't have such a bad rep amongst mainstream media. Another thing UFC did was during the first handful of shows, a bunch of unskilled brutes were churned out so people like Kimo and Tank Abbott would have spectacular bloody fights that they would push to the young male demographic. They still would have skilled fighters like Shamrock, Gracie, Severn, and Taktarov, but a lot of the guys out there were fire fighters or trash collectors and had no business fighting on a professional level. The push for super violence has fucked UFC and MMA as a whole over in North America and it's still suffering from it to this day.

[Guest alkeiper]

I need a clarification. Where in the article does it say 4 people died the last year? All I could find is that about 9 people total have died in its history.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I live in Sarasota. Actually spoke with a few of the writers at the Herald today while I was at work. Very melancholic mood. It's not exactly the kind of big local news they like to see hit CNN.

 

Here's a more detailed, personal article that gets some more from the family, from the Bradenton Herald...

 

Bradenton Woman Dies Seeking Adventure, Fun

 

Toughman competition ends in family tragedy

BRIAN HAAS

Herald Staff Writer

 

 

She died after a "why not?" moment that spurred her to do something she had never done before.

 

Stacy Young had never been in a fight before Saturday night.

 

But the lights, the glitz and the glory of the Toughman Competition at Sarasota's Robarts Arena that night gave her hope.

 

There was no cash prize, simply a chance to win. Something. Anything.

 

Instead, Stacy Young lost her life at the age of 30.

 

Sarasota Police are investigating and the founder of Toughman issued a statement announcing the organization plans to examine how to make the competition safer and will put all future Toughman contests on hold.

 

Young moved to Bradenton with her husband, Chuck, and their two children earlier this year, with dreams of becoming a teacher and little else. The two could barely afford a car to drive to work, said Don Meyers, Young's brother-in-law.

 

After attending the Toughman on Friday night, Young decided she'd take a chance Saturday, Meyers said. He said promoters waived the $50 fee for Young to enter into the competition - she didn't have enough money.

 

"Stacy has nothing. A lot of the stuff appeals to those people who don't have anything," Meyers said. "A jacket and a trophy and accolades from a crowd are huge.

 

"Somebody's rice bowl is somebody's banquet."

 

A 'fun' thing

 

Jodie Meyers, Young's sister, said the fight was billed as "a fun kind of thing.

 

"They were told it was fun and safe," she said. "They expected that they would be matched up with people of similar skill levels."

 

Young learned that her opponent was going to be about 60 pounds lighter and a cake decorator.

 

"It would be just a little bit of punching and shoving and that kind of thing," Don Meyers said.

 

The fight turned out quite different, they said.

 

"It was obvious immediately that the other boxer was a better boxer. She seemed to know what she was doing," Jodie Meyers said.

 

Young's boxing match almost went the entire distance, said Jodie Meyers, Young's sister. Young had taken blows to the head, going down a few times. But nobody suspected anything wrong.

 

"She got back up every time - until the last time," Jodie Meyers said. "It was 10 seconds until the end of the fight."

 

Meyers and Young's husband thought Young was punch drunk. Even when paramedics put her into an ambulance, about 15 minutes after the fight, they figured it was a minor concussion.

 

The family went to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg to see how Young was doing.

 

"When we walked in, they had the chaplain greet us," Jodie Meyers said. "That's when I knew that it was something serious."

 

Monday evening, according to the hospital, Young was declared brain dead. Tuesday, she died and the hospital was preparing to harvest her organs to donate to other patients.

 

Now the Meyers family is wondering how Chuck Young will cope.

 

The Young family was hard-working, but didn't have much money. Chuck was a welder and Stacy was a retail optician, Don Meyers said.

 

They moved from Tucson, Ariz., to be closer to family and so Young could attend school to be a teacher, Jodie Meyers said.

 

Many questions

 

Now family members said they have questions: Who was Young's opponent? Was she professional? Why are the fights not regulated? Why were the dangers of the match reportedly glossed over?

 

The bouts are reportedly not regulated by the state because the Toughman does not offer more than $50 in prize money. Amateur boxing is regulated by the event sponsors, in this case AdoreAble Promotions.

 

AdoreAble Promotions, the Toughman competition's promotion company, sent out a press release Tuesday about Young's death. The release said, "Toughman contest deaths per participant over Toughman's entire 24-year history has been well below that of other forms of boxing."

 

Art Dore, the founder of Toughman, said in the release, "when any contestant dies in the sport of their choice, it's a tragedy. . . . But when it happens in a Toughman event, I am devastated."

 

The Sarasota Police Department may answer some of the family's questions. Jay Frank, the department's spokesman, said he couldn't comment on the case, but a press release said it was investigating Young's death to determine if any "criminality" occurred at the event.

 

Young's family has hired an attorney to help with the police investigation. Greg Kehoe, a Tampa attorney, said he and the family are exploring their legal options.

 

Kehoe said he is looking into "whether or not these competitions should be allowed to proceed, not only in Florida, but anywhere.

 

"There's an incredible amount of danger, and they (competitors) have to be made aware of that before these competitions," Kehoe said.

 

Young's death would be at least the 10th death linked to the Toughman competitions since 1979, according to a February Associated Press story about the death of a 31-year-old San Antonio Toughman fighter in Michigan.

 

Tuesday, Young's family was trying to weather the storm of media attention.

 

Meanwhile, Chuck Young quietly mourned with his children and other relatives, the Meyers said.

 

"They're not holding up very well," Jodie Meyer said. "They're devastated. Not only have they lost their mother, they've lost the pillar that has held up the family."

 

Brian Haas, staff writer, can be reached at 745-7024 or at [email protected]. The Associated Press and the St. Petersburg Times contributed to this report.

 

HOW TO HELP

 

The family is seeking financial help for Chuck Young and his children. For more information, call Florida First Bank at 747-1479.

[Guest starvenger]

I need a clarification. Where in the article does it say 4 people died the last year? All I could find is that about 9 people total have died in its history.

I'm not sure about the article, but here are the 4...

 

MICHAEL KUHN, 26

When: Sept. 20, 2002

 

ART LIGGINS, 44

When: Sept. 15, 2002

 

SCOTT WOOD, 31

When: Jan. 24, 2003

 

and Stacy Young, just this past week...

[Guest Lethargic]

If you're a fat out of shape housewife and you decide at the last second to jump into a boxing ring on a lark just to get punched in the head for three rounds without any prior experience and/or training and you think it's completely safe and that the worst that could happen is a broken nose.....you deserve to die. Sorry, but it's true. Don't wanna die or get hurt, don't be a friggin stupid idiot and get in A BOXING RING. Simple.

 

Why does everything have to be banned just because a few stupid people get hurt? How does the Toughman contest hurt anybody? The only people that got hurt were people that PAID MONEY to get hurt or to hurt somebody else. It's THEIR body, it's THEIR life, if they wanna risk it, why should anybody else have the right to say they shouldn't? This woman should've known better, her family should've known better, none of them DID know better. That doesn't mean it should banned. I would understand the calls to ban it if it was something that was hurting un-suspecting people that didn't sign up for it. But these people pay money, sign waivers and go through a physical. They know what they're doing is dangerous and what they're doing doesn't hurt me and doesn't hurt you, it only hurts the people stupid enough to do it. Personally, I like to watch stupid people get hurt, that makes my day. These moron reporters trying to write this "oh poor pitiful woman didn't know what she was getting into" bullshit PC tearjerking story make me sick. I feel no pity for her at all. She should've thought "I'm fat, out of shape, a wife and a mother, I am not a boxer" instead of thinking "wow, that trophy sure is shiney!"

[Guest Youth N Asia]

The Pardon The Interruption guys hate UFC. And almost everybody from ESPN is anti UFC.

Fuckin assholes. I watched the show yesterday and they bashed UFC calling it worse then TOughman. Which is funny cause UFC fights are honest athletes and NO ONE has ever died in a MMA event...unlike boxing. I actually e-mailed those pricks yeatserday.

[Guest Downhome]

I need a clarification. Where in the article does it say 4 people died the last year? All I could find is that about 9 people total have died in its history.

I don't believe it's in the article, but it is true. It was on CNN, etc... earlier talking about it.