It’s been revealed in the aftermath of his tragic death that Hugo Santillán was under a suspension handed out by the German Boxing Federation.
The young Argentinian, just 23 years old, accepted a fight in his native country just five weeks on from one-sided reverse in Hamburg.
Down in the fight and beaten comprehensively, Santillán was told by the BDB he must not fight until July 31 due to the severity of the punches he took.
Santillán and his team did not adhere to those wishes and have paid the penalty in the worst way.
On July 20, Eduardo Abreu was in the opposite corner as Santillán shared a brutal battle over another ten rounds. The date was eleven days shy of when Santillan was allowed to compete.
The fight ended a draw, but shockingly, Santillán was being held up by his corner as the result was being read out.
Oxygen should have been administered way before this point simply due to the nature of the contest. It was a further two minutes until the correct help arrived.
Taking blows to the head is bad enough as a profession, but when the correct protection procedures are put in place they should never be ignored.
SANTILLAN
Those extra days recovery would have been vital to Santillan. This is an outcome we will never see come to fruition.
We all know boxing is not safe, not by a long shot, but it becomes a nigh on impossibility to even try when the suspensions are not adhered to.
The sport needs the worldwide organizations to come together as one, at the very least to make sure a suspension from anywhere in the world remains in place.
At this point in time, that scenario seems a million miles away and preventable tragedies have no chance of being avoided.
Something has to change and soon.
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Hugo Santillán, 23, dies from injuries suffered during July 20 bout
Hugo Santillán competed in his last bout at Club Atlético, San Nicolás and immediately began another fight for his life. Santillán, just 23 years old, died this morning after clinging on for five days. Fighting a ten-round split decision against Eduardo Abreu, Santillán passed out when awaiting the verdict. Not that it holds any significance […]
