NO HOLDS BARRED

An Associated Press story today reveals that welterweight boxer Kevin Payne, who died Sunday following a bout in Evansville, Indiana, “may have had a pre-existing brain injury.”

But even though Payne passed the rudimentary pre-fight medical exam required by that weak commission, how could they even have known that ahead of time?

According to information posted on the web site of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), all Indiana requires are a pre-fight complete physical exam, a negative HIV test, and a pregnancy test.

NOT required are:

EKG (Heart Test)
EEG (Brain Wave Test)
Dilated Eye Exam (Eye Test)
Cat Scan (Brain X-Ray)
MRI (Brain X-Ray)
Neurological Exam (By Neurologist)
Stress Test (Heart) 2D Echo (Heart)
Negative Hepatitis BsAg (Hepatitis B Test)
Negative Hepatitis CAb (Hepatitis C Test)
Hepatitis Vaccine
CBC (Blood Count)
PT/PTT (Blood Clotting Test)
Chest X-Ray
TB Test (Tuberculosis)
Neuropsychological Exam (Neurologic Test)
Gynecologic Exam

Payne’s death is the latest tragic reason why the U.S. needs a national boxing commission, and one that mandates pre-fight brain tests like MRI's and CAT scans. No other body, and certainly not promoters or TV networks, will or can enact such regulations, and be in a position to enforce them.