Boxer's brain hemorrhage followed fair match, governing group says

A Saturday night fight that sent cruiserweight boxer David Whittom with a brain hemorrhage to hospital was a fair match, and he was close to winning, says the New Brunswick Combat Sport Commission.

Shortly after the fight in Fredericton, the pro boxer was rushed to Saint John Regional Hospital, where he underwent two hours of surgery to remove a portion of his skull to give his swollen brain room to heal.

"This is a fight where we felt very comfortable, in a fair contest, for the public and the safety of the fighters," said Denis Leger, executive director of the New Brunswick Combat Sport Commission, which regulates and issues permits for combat sports, including boxing.

Whittom, 38, lost to Gary Kopas in the 10th round, but Leger said the fight at the Aitken Centre came close to turning out differently.

"David Whittom was 37 seconds away from being a Canadian champion," Leger said.

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Whittom, who was raised in Fredericton and lives in Quebec City, is still in hospital.

He was fighting Kopas of Saskatoon for the vacant Canadian Professional Boxing Council cruiserweight championship.​

"It reminds everybody involved that this is a professional sport where there is a risk of this happening," Leger said. 

The commission will review the fight, which happens after every boxing event, he said.

Happened so fast

Leger said things had taken a bad turn for Whittom when he was in the ropes and proceeding to turn around.  Kopas threw another punch to Whittom's head, and the referee stopped the fight as soon as he could.

"It was clear an instant even before the punch landed that he was out," Leger said. "The referee stepped in at the first [punch] that landed, the second punch that landed the referee was in the middle stopping it ... it happened in a split second."

Kopas said in an earlier interview that he was surprised the referee kept the fight going when it was clear Whittom was in trouble.

After his match, Whittom watch the next fights at ringside with his family. 

But shortly after midnight, he left the Aitken Centre with stepbrother Eric Moffatt, who dropped him off at his mother's house. Moffatt quickly returned because Whittom wasn't feeling well, and was complaining of a headache and nausea.

Boxing approval

In order to host a boxing card, Leger said a promoter, in this case Brandon Brewer's L-Jack Promotions Inc., must apply to the commission for a permit.

Boxers need to apply for a contestant's licence, which involves a variety of steps, including obtaining a medical exam.

"Everybody has to meet the same medical requirements," he said.  

He said Whittom was also cleared by a neurologist for concussions about two or three years ago, but there was no neurological examination since then.

"The only time [fighters] go for a clearance for the neurologist is if they actually suffered a concussion and if it's recommended by the physician at ringside," he said.

A run of losses

While Whittom started his career with wins in seven of his first nine fights, he became a journeyman opponent for a number of notable fighters, including current world light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson of Montreal and Quebec-based contender Eleider Alvarez.

His overall record was 12-24-1, with eight knockouts, but he had lost 18 of his last 20 bouts.

"His international status he did not do well, he fought outside his weight category for a lot of those losses," said Leger. "This was a fight in Fredericton that was directly in his weight category ... against a perfectly well-matched opponent." 

Leger has been at the hospital with the family over the past few days. He has known Whittom for about 10 years through boxing.

"It's personal for everybody involved in the boxing community," he said. "It's a very bad situation that nobody wanted to see. 

"Right now all I want is for Mr. Whittom to make a recovery."​