Super bantamweight Benjamin Flores has died five days after being stopped in the eighth round of his scheduled 12 round bout with Al Seeger in Dallas, Texas. The medical examiner listed the official cause of death as "blunt force head injuries".
The bout was reportedly competitive and there is no indication that this was a case of the corner or the referee allowing a fighter to take excessive punishment. Flores was never knocked down in the fight but was hit with a series of unanswered punches with about a minute remaining in the eighth round and referee Laurence Cole stopped the fight. Shortly after being helped onto a stool, Flores lost consciousness and was taken from the ring on a stretcher to Parkland Hospital.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has said it is reviewing the fight to verify that all procedures were followed.
The 24-year-old Flores had a ring record of 19-4 and won the vacant WBC Continental Americas super bantamweight title in 2007.
Comments
rest in peace benjamin always a shame when when boxing is tarnished by a death like this. condolences to his family
My condolences to the young mans family. What a tragedy to be so young and talented and to have something like this happen. This is a great loss to our boxing community.
Sad, indeed. Another good reason to create a new, united boxing organization and reexamine the rules and risks involved. MMA is a much more brutal sport, with blood and knockouts just the same, but far fewer deaths. This should be a major concern for boxing’s future.
rest in peace my close friend and a patna in crime in high skool.. R.I.P BENJAMIN
They need to start wearing head gear as standard, death like this is un-necessary and can be prevented!