GAB airs its side on Maquinto tragedy

It's been a week now since boxer Karlo Maquinto tragically died, six days after lapsing into a coma following his eight-round bout with Mark Joseph Costa at the Recom Dome in Caloocan City. The fight ended in a majority draw, with two judges scoring it an even 75-75 and a third scoring it 75-74, with Costa getting deducted a point in Round 4 for repeatedly spitting out his mouthpiece. Costa decked Maquinto twice in the second round, although Maquinto came back strong to nearly floor Costa in the very same round. Costa was close to going down but was saved by the bell.

After the decision was announced, Maquinto walked back to his corner. He never made it, collapsing along the way and losing consciousness. According the Games and Amusements Board report, Maquinto "was immediately taken by the stand-by ambulance at the FEU hospital by GAB's Medical Chief, Dr. Radentor Viernes with assistance of the Rescue Medical Team deployed by the city government of Caloocan."

There has been some speculation about how the boxer was handled while being brought to the ambulance, and whether he was even cleared to fight that night. All of this falls under GAB jurisdiction, so in an attempt to get a clearer picture of what happened, I contacted GAB spokesman Atty. Aquil Tamano and e-mailed him some questions. He replied not only with his own answers, but those of Dr. Viernes as well.

According to Atty. Tamano, Karlo was cleared to fight on that night, even though he was a last-minute replacement.

"In our initial investigation all the standard safety procedures were taken," Tamano said. "As to his physical fitness, Maquinto had a CT scan last year together with the standard medical exams (chest x-ray, ECG, etc.), which are required by our rules. He was examined by the GAB physician a day before the fight, which was during the weigh in." Tamano added that the GAB had enough personnel at the venue. He said aside from Viernes, another doctor, Dr. Mae Banez, and a nurse, Ms. Christine Cordon were present with the usual safety medical safety requirements."

Dr. Viernes also said everything was in order.

"As per medical safety standards set for boxing events, there was no breach of safety precautions," the doctor said. "There were two stand-by ambulances with emergency medical personnel aside from the duty nurse from GAB and two of us as ringside physicians."

Tamano and Viernes dispute a report that there was no oxygen nearby, and that Maquinto was not properly handled while being lifted to a stretcher. Some people have questioned why the boxer was not immediately given oxygen after he lost consciousness, but as both Tamano and Viernes explain, bringing Maquinto to the ambulance immediately, where there was an oxygen tank, and rushing him to the hospital was the best thing to do under the circumstances. Viernes also denies that Maquinto was handled "clumsily", although both he and Tamano admit that someone from the boxer's camp may have acted too eagerly and gotten in the way for a brief moment.

"It was the decision of the ringside physician to immediately bring Maquinto to the nearest hospital," Tamano said. "There was a standard oxygen tank in the ambulance. According to the incident report they followed the execution plan. In an instance where the boxer did not suffer from a fall, a neck brace is not necessary. There might be some lapses in how his cornermen helped Maquinto to the stretcher. We will reexamine our procedures."

Viernes said he inspected the venue before the event got underway to map out an evacuation plan in the event a boxer needed to be rushed to the hospital.

"Before the boxing event started I made an ocular inspection of the venue with the purpose of setting a mental plan of evacuation for any eventuality," he said. "There was an oxygen tank on stand-by, and I know where it was located. Having seen the fight from ringside, my clinical judgment right away was Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and time was of the essence."

Oxygen, Viernes explained, would only help in cases of severe exhaustion, so it would have been a waste of time to run to the ambulance, bring out the oxygen tank, run back to the ring, administer oxygen, then bring him to the ambulance. "I opted to bring him right away to the nearest tertiary hospital. The ambulance, where the oxygen inhalation was waiting, was only about 10 to 15 meters away from the ring."

The doctor, who has nine years' worth of experience as an attending physician in boxing promotions, said in the commotion that ensued after Maquinto collapsed, someone from the boxer's corner tried to lift him by yanking his upper left limb. This, he added, was probably what the public saw which led to the speculation that Maquinto wasn't handled properly on the way to the ambulance. Viernes said the GAB doctors immediately put a stop to that.

"Instead we slid him sideways towards the awaiting stretcher," said Viernes, who added he personally lifted Maquinto's head while supporting the neck and shoulder, "the same way we transfer patients from bed to stretcher."

Since Maquinto looked to be, at least on paper, the superior fighter, with a 6-0-1 record compared to Costa's rather mediocre 4-4-2 record, and yet he struggled in this fight, I asked if it was possible that there was something wrong with him even before the bout.

"(A) medical clearance with brain scan result for boxing license and pre-fight physical and medical examination signed by Dr. Viernes taken after the weight-in January 27 at GAB showed a physically fit boxer Karlo Maquinto," Tamano said.

"Boxers undergo strict medical examination before they enter into the ring to fight," Viernes added. "Annually they submit laboratory exams and have to have a clean bill of health prior to the issuance of their professional license. Examinations include chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, drug testing, hepatitis screening, and a CT scan for the brain. Before each fight a boxer undergoes a physical examination on the day of the weigh-in or a day prior to the fight. After each fight, a boxer undergoes a post-bout examination and there medical suspensions are issued for them to rest before they fight again. For this boxer, everything was in order. Hence, he was fit to fight."

In light of this unfortunate death, Tamano said the GAB is looking at some additional safety measures for fighters while they are in the ring. These include allowing use of oxygen during the rest period in between rounds, allowing a doctor to examine both boxers in between rounds, and requiring an MRI brain scan for boxers.

Viernes said there is a need to increase the educating of all lay people involved in boxing particularly, boxers, trainers and seconds regarding safety measures in boxing with constant reminders.

Over the years, Tamano said the GAB, taking its cue from the world governing bodies, has adopted several safety measures. These include:

- Ring officials seminar (referees, judges, and ringside doctors);

- Medical ringside doctors and ambulances at fight venue;

- Suspension of boxers due to medical problems and poor performances;

- Annual medical and physical examinations to include brain scan;

- Annual gym visitation to see boxers training;

- Pre-fight conferences for ring officials and boxers representatives;

- Retirement for boxers with cataract, retinal injuries, very poor boxing skills, etc.;

- Weight monitoring to disallow more than two pounds weight loss;

- Allowing electrolyte drinks to correct dehydration;

- Drug testing during licensing and random testing after the fight;

- use of eight-ounces gloves for boxers up to 135 pounds and 10-ounces gloves for over 135 lbs. boxers; and

- Monitoring and examination of bandaging of boxers.

Tamano said prior to Maquinto's death, the GAB recorded only one other death of a boxer over the last five years. Alex Aroy died in 2008 of abdominal ailments in Maasin, Leyte. Still, that's two deaths too many, and hopefully the number doesn't rise anymore. But it's become more difficult over the past few years with so many Manny Pacquiao wannabes plying their trade in boxing gyms.

Ever since Pacquiao's meteoric rise to fame, the GAB has recorded a sudden spike in the number of professional boxing licenses, with more and more Filipinos aspiring to be the next Pacman. The number peaked to 959 in 2008 — the year Pacquiao's popularity took off with wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar Dela Hoya — before settling at 733 last year.

This increase has made the GAB's job even more crucial, as now they need to monitor more boxers and weed out those who have no business being in the ring. Sadly, Maquinto looked like he had a bright future ahead of him.

E-mail: sid_ventura@yahoo.com.